Washington

Solar Legislator Score: ***

Dreary cloudy Washington? It’s really not that dreary at all. Click here to check out a solar resource map for the entire Pacific Northwest region. There, you can see during the summer months especially, the region enjoys a considerable amount of sunlight. So at least our legislators there have some sun to work with! Lets turn to the current state incentives.

The Incentives
Washington State Senate Bill SB 5101 provides consumer credits for installing small scale solar power systems connected to the grid and SB 5111 provide incentives for solar manufacturers that may be interested in moving to the state of Washington. These bills passed both the Washington House and Senate in April of 2005 by landslide margins. Not one Washington state legislator voted against these bills! How could you? That’s political suicide.

But Whoa, Not So Fast!
Well Erik, I’m here to say, 1) not so fast and 2) who are you crapping? While those power payment rates may seem huge, the annual $2,000 cap on payments per year in Washington sort of sucks. In comparison to other progressive state’s energy policies, Washington does little to offer much in terms of an across the board rebate or tax break for those installing solar systems. Some have argued that this more gradual rebate of up to $2000 per year supports long term energy efficiency instead of just getting solar panels on roofs. However, in my opinion, there aren’t many businesses that can make the upfront financial investment necessary to justify the cost without such a rebate. For example, in Oregon, there’s a $70,000 installation cap for businesses provided through the Oregon Energy Trust (Granted they aren’t paying a rate of $0.54/KwH, but hell they are at least paying up to a significant amount and the cash is available within 5 years). So in Washington, it is quite a bit more prohibitive to initially go solar - especially if you’re a business.

Installation
Already on Washington’s books are laws forgiving the state sales tax on the purchase and installation of alternative-energy equipment through 2011. Also, there are grants up to 33% provided for installation costs solar thermal electric and PV systems. They are available via "Green Tag" purchases through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF). While this is good, there is a limit on the cash BEF can dole out every year..
Solar Water Heating Rebates
Several Washington counties (Ahem, 4 out of 40) offer rebates for solar water heating systems and PVs. For example in Clallam county, solar hot water systems are eligible for a rebate of $500 for each 40 square feet of collector area installed. PV systems are eligible for a rebate of $500 for each kilowatt of capacity installed. Others:
Clark Public Utilities – SWH Rebate -$2000 Qualifying equipment must meet certain specifications.
Franklin PUD - SWH Rebate- $500 for a solar water heater with minimum 40 square foot collector.
Grays Harbor PUD - SWH Rebate - $600 for solar collectors of 40 square feet or more
Solar Water Heating Financing
Again, in a sparse amount of Washington counties, there are loans available for solar hot water heating systems:
Clark Public Utilities - Solar Loan Program-Max $4000- 5% 60 mo.
Franklin PUD - Energy Loans Max: $7000- 3% APR or 6% APR when loan combined with rebate program. Max. $850 (in the form of rebate or buying down loan from 6% to 3%).
Grays Harbor PUD - SWH Loan Maximum Loan Amount: $4,000 Terms: 3.5%

Consensus
There could be better a lot more done to spur on homeowner and small business solar implementations in Washington state. Specifically, if the state of Washington worked with the utilities in a similar way that Oregon has, there could be better incentives for businesses. Hopefully, more catalyzing legislation winds up in Olympia in the coming years.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/washington/