Black Hills Freezes Its Solar Rebate in Colorado

In Unexpected Move, Black Hills Freezes Its Solar Rebate in Colorado
Posted by Adam Sewall at getsolar.com Wednesday, October 20th 2010

Black Hills Energy, a Colorado utility company, on Monday announced the suspension of it solar energy rebate program through the end of the year, issuing the following notice on its website:

Black Hills solar rebate suspension noticeThank you for your interest, indeed. Prior to the announcement, Black Hills’ solar rebate program offered homeowners who installed solar panels a rebate of $2.00 per watt — plus a one-time renewable energy credit (REC) payment of $0.50 per watt. The rebate, in other words, helped lower the cost of installing solar energy systems within Black Hills’ service territory.

Colorado solar installers were caught off guard by the news, according to The Chieftian. The timing, moreover, appears to be less than ideal. “It’s discouraging that Black Hills is doing this [suspending the solar rebate] just as the solar-power industry is taking off in the Pueblo area,” Scott Estep, owner of Casa Verde Energy, told the Chieftain.

All is not yet said and done, however. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission must review Black Hills’ decision, which was apparently made in part due to “financial losses” incurred by the utility. Another factor at play is that Black Hills has reached its obligations under state law to get a specified portion of its electricity from solar resources. If state regulators OK the suspension of the rebate program, it may well return in coming years. When it does, however, it will most certainly be reintroduced at a lower level than the $2.00 per watt homeowners (and businesses) enjoyed previously.

As for all you Coloradans who aren’t Black Hills customers are concerned, fear not: as far as we know, Xcel Energy’s Solar Rewards rebate program is still kicking, as is the Governor’s Energy Office’s Recharge Colorado program. If you’re wondering which option is right for you, all you need to know is: if you’re a customer of Xcel Energy, you apply for that rebate when you install solar panels; if you’re NOT an Xcel customer, you’ll want to explore the Recharge Colorado option.

Finally, regardless of whether you live in Colorado — or beyond — the moral of the story is: don’t wait to install a solar home energy system because you don’t know when helpful solar rebate programs in your area might be paused, delayed or axed entirely.