Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) says it will now offer rebates for customers who install solar power at their homes and businesses. Applicants can apply for rebates starting June 21 through a new pilot program that has been approved by the Florida Public Service Commission.
Rebates will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for residential and business customers who install solar water heating or solar photovoltaic panels this year, FPL says. The program is designed to help reduce energy consumption and peak demand.
The residential solar water heating program will provide $1,000 per installed solar water heater. FPL estimates rebates will be available for about 4,500 customers, depending on the size of the systems installed. Business customers will be eligible for a variable solar thermal rebate based on the size of the system installed that will equal $30 per 1,000 BTUh/day of the maximum rated output of the installed system.
The residential solar PV program will provide an incentive of $2,000 per kW of the rated direct-current output of a PV system up to a maximum of $20,000. The business PV program will provide a variable incentive depending on the output of the system – up to $50,000 per site during the life of the program.
FPL says it will also connect the customers' solar PV systems to the electric grid through its net-metering program.
‘While the funding is limited, this new pilot program will help make individual investments in distributed, small-scale solar power more affordable for more customers,’ says Marlene Santos, FPL's vice president of customer service.
Approximately 1,100 of FPL's 4.5 million customer accounts currently operate their own solar generation. FPL expects the funding cap for new solar PV rebates to be reached quickly due to growing interest in distributed solar generation.
Additional program details are available here.
