Giving with One Hand, and…

Hard on the heels of Congress extending investment tax credits for solar power and lifting the cap on residential installations, some states and utilities are cutting back, commensurately, on their own incentive and rebate programs.

The State of Connecticut is the first to do so, although New Jersey is also considering lowering the value of its incentives, and Xcel Energy in Colorado has already announced a shifting of its incentives from residential to large-scale renewable projects.

Well over half of states in the country offer some sort of program to help homeowners with solar installations, and many may look to reduce their costs as the federal incentives come into play.  It’s probable, however, that the money saved by states in this way will go into other renewable energy or energy efficiency programs.

It would be worthwhile, at this point, for solar citizens to check whether their state energy administration or their utility is planning adjustments to its rebate/incentive program.