Energy Rebates on Hold as Financing Lags
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission announced it was putting on hold its rebate programs for residential solar and wind projects, as well as commercial and industrial solar installations. The residential program has a waitlist totaling about $500,000 in rebates; the commercial program's waitlist totals about $1 million.
Both those programs will be closed to new applications until at least Sept. 1, when the state will be sure how much money it will have to spend on rebates. The state is returning all applications submitted for its commercial solar program after July 13, and returning all applications to its residential solar and wind program after June 30.
The applications it keeps will be processed on a first come, first served basis.
The state will probably look at changing the rebate programs before opening them back up again.
"We may need to reconsider program terms and conditions before they reopen," said Amanda Noonan, PUC consumer services and external affairs director.
Demand for the rebate programs has been trending upward, but the decision to temporarily close the programs is also about shrinking revenues.
The Renewable Energy Fund, which pays for all of the state's renewable energy rebate programs, had $4.2 million to spend last year. This year, unaudited revenues are pegged at $3.6 million.
All of the REF's revenues come from alternative compliance payments. ACPs are the payments energy suppliers must make in order to meet the state's renewable portfolio standard when they can't generate enough clean electricity themselves or buy the equivalent in renewable energy credits.
ACP revenues are extremely variable - in 2009 they were just $1.3 million and two years later hit a high of $19.1 million, according to the PUC's 2016 report on the REF. A blend of changing regulatory environments and market forces make revenues jump around, but new facilities generating renewable energy credits or installing solar panels are driving ACPs down.
And while the REF is seeing a reduction in revenues, lawmakers have added a new tap on it. Senate Bill 129, which was signed into law this session, now earmarks 15 percent of the fund for low- to moderate-income solar projects.
Mike Fay, the managing partner at Concord-based solar installer SunRay, said a moratorium on the rebate shouldn't hurt the market for smaller installations, where lower product costs already allow for a quick return on investment. But, he said, it could change the equation for larger projects.
"(Losing) the residential rebate is not going to affect the residential market. But the commercial is going to be a little tougher, because it's up to $50,000 across the system," he said.
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