Georgia

Solar Legislator Score: ****
Rolling hills and trees characterize most of Georgia’s residential communities. Add a generous supply of azaleas and other flowering plants to the trademark dogwood, peach tree, and magnolia blossoms, and you have a picture-postcard look at life in the heart of Dixie. It is truly beautiful. However, if you actually live in Georgia, there are times when you must deal with unwanted effects of pollen combined with an excess of air pollution. Your sinuses and lungs might occasionally beg for relief. One form of relief could come from state legislation to strongly encourage the use of pollution-reducing energy alternatives, such as solar power.
STATE LEGISLATION - (Updated 7/16/08):Unfortunately there has been no legislation to promote residential or commercial use of solar energy systems in Georgia. Net metering and solar access easements (as described below) pave the way for solar power in a very limited fashion. The fact that only one (1!) Georgia customer signed up for net metering in 2005 – the most recent year of DOE net metering statistics by state – clearly shows that other incentives are necessary to get people on the solar bandwagon here. (NO LONGER TRUE - SEE NEXT PARAPGRAPH)
Finally! The state of Georgia has come through and passed some groundbreaking solar legislation! According to House Bill 670 passed a few weeks ago, businesses and residences are eligible for a clean energy property tax credit. The public service commission defines “clean energy property” as any that uses solar radiation to convert energy to useful forms. So, this includes photovoltaics, solar water heating, etc. You’ve got from now until December 31st, 2012 to put your system on line to qualify. Additionally, you need to file an application with the Commissioner of Revenue. Funds will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis from a pool of $2.5 million. The credits are administered by the Department of Revenue who can be reached at 404-417-4477.

Here’s the incentive rate schedule:

Residential installations
1. The lesser of 35 percent or $2,500 for solar energy equipment for water heating.
2. The lesser of 35 percent of $10,500 for solar energy equipment for heating applications.
3. The lesser of 35 percent or $2,000 for certified geothermal heat pump systems.

Business installations
1. The lesser of 35 percent or $500,000 for solar energy equipment for solar electric (photovoltaic),other solar thermal electric applications, and active space heating, wind equipment, and biomassequipment2. The lesser of 35 percent or $100,000 for solar energy equipment for domestic water heating
3. The lesser of 35 percent or $100,000 for Energy Star certified geothermal heat pump systems

STATE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, UTILITY REBATES, UTILITY LOANS, and UTILITY INCENTIVES
Net Metering rules have been in effect in Georgia since June 1, 2002 for photovoltaics, wind power, and fuel cells. System size is limited to 10kW for residential installations and 100 kW for commercial installations. All utility companies are included in this plan, but are obligated only to pay for excess customer-generated power to a maximum of .2% of the utility’s annual peak demand the previous year.
Check out what David Moye from Dublin Georgia was able to accomplish as a result of the new legislation and by working with Georgia Power:
9/2/08-
We are an electrical contracting company here in Dublin Georgia are in the process of installing a 20KW system on our commercial building. I have done lots of research. Georgia Power resource schedule RNR-3 lays out the metering plans. You can either backfeed your panel and use the utility as a battery (They will pay you 4.22 cents a KWHR if you have a negative at the end of the month) It is called Bi-directional metering (fee = $4.18 a month).
We are going the other route and installing a completely seperate service and selling every single KWHR to the utility. Georgia power will pay 17.4 cents a KWHR for this system. Customers elect to pay more for their power if it is produced by renewables. We expect to get a 30% tax credit from the federal government and a 35% tax credit from the state. The remainder is a tax deduction, leaving you with about 15% of the total install cost. The only iffy in this entire deal is the Georgia Tax Credit; it is first come - first serve and they won’t review your tax form until the system is operational.
A solar access law provides for the negotiation of easements that assure owners of solar-energy systems continued access to sunlight.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) offers an interesting program through participating Green Power Switch (GPS) Generation Partners. Home or business owners can sell 100% of their solar or wind power output to TVA for 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. An additional $500 incentive to help offset start-up costs is also available to residential users who qualify.

EXAMPLE RESIDENTIAL SOLAR INSTALLATION
Georgia’s thriving population center of Atlanta had very humble beginnings. It was originally the 0-mile marker of a railroad that became a trade route from Georgia to the Midwestern U.S., and was known simply as “Terminus”. In the early 1840s, the fledgling community had about three dozen residents who felt a more appropriate name was required. Atlantica-Pacifica was chosen, but later shortened to Atlanta when the town was incorporated in 1847. Today, Atlanta embraces both Fulton and parts of Dekalb counties, and currently has nearly a half million people; the metro Atlanta area has about five million people, or nearly half the state’s population.
The principal electric supplier is Georgia Power, serving about half of the state’s electrical customers. Georgia’s average usage is 13,776 kWh/year at an average rate of 8.64 cents per kWh. An Atlanta resident can replace 50% of that energy use with a solar power system at an estimated net cost of $37,000 (that’s a mid-range projection for both the system and installation costs after a $2,000 federal tax credit and a $10,500 state tax credit), and 550 square feet of roof area. You may think to yourself, “My goodness, that still seems like a lot of cash I have to fork out to do the right thing for my checkbook eventually and the environment”. However, there are some great financing options available which will probably add up to the total amount you were paying before on energy usage per month anyway. To explore some of those options, request contact with one of the installers in our network by clicking the link below.
Since the region’s solar rating is “good”, it’s about time the state legislators came through with a tax credit to encourage residential solar power installations in Atlanta or elsewhere in the state. The following advantages of installing a 3kW system should be considered (results shown are for Fulton County; DeKalb County provides slightly better financial benefits):
Estimated increase in property value – $9,920
Estimated 25-year utility savings – $20,813
Estimated reduction in greenhouse gases (CO2) – 141 tons

CONSENSUS
Georgia is one of the fastest growing states in the nation. Government and local utilities officials both have finally provided residential and business incentives for solar power and other renewable energy alternatives to mitigate demands on the state’s electrical capacity. Kudos! More can still be done.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/georgia/