Renewable energy rebates
By Green Living Tips | Published 06/13/2009 |
Renewable energy grants, rebates and incentives
Ever dreamed of having solar panels on your roof or a wind turbine in the back yard? It's certainly a goal of mine; one I was able to partially achieve recently.
While prices on solar installations and other forms of green power options have certainly come down in recent years, renewable energy technology is still out of the reach for most of us - or is it?
A few years back when I priced a small system for the little place I had in the outback, it was around $USD 3,000 - that was just enough to run my notebook 12 hours a day, basic lighting and a few peripheral items. To power our house was in the region of $USD 25,000 - $30,000.
Prices have dropped substantially and last year I was able to get together a mobile solar rig for my outback adventures for around the $USD $1,300 mark (around $1,600 AUD at current exchange rates), but one for the house is still out of reach without some sort of substantial assistance.
It's been encouraging to see in recent times many governments becoming increasingly aware that as part of the battle against global warming, they need to plow some very serious cash into renewable energy - including rebates, grants and other financial incentives to householders, businesses and community groups.
Another example, this time in the USA, is in California where quite generous rebates are on offer - for example, a rebate of $2.50 per watt is available for wind turbines of up to 30kW. For folks in Oregon, The Energy Trust of Oregon offers cash rebates up to $10,000 for Oregon customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric who install new grid-connected solar electric systems.
While the rebates still won't make the initial purchase of green power hardware attainable by some, it will open the renewable energy door for others and hopefully with increased demand; technology and production efficiencies; we'll see pricing drop further across the board on items such as solar panels and wind turbines.
Finding current information on renewable energy rebates can be a bit of a hassle, so I thought it might be useful to attempt to list some of the various rebate resources available online. I'd really welcome feedback so I can expand on the list (particularly additional countries) and to help me keep it up to date!
President Obama has made renewable energy a priority and all sorts of rebates and incentives are available at both a federal and state level.
Green Made Simple (www.greenmadesimple.com) is a free online service that allows you to find local residential energy efficiency rebates by just entering your zip code.
The Database of State Incentives For Renewables and Efficiency (www.dsireusa.org) is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and rebates that promote renewable energy. It was amazing to see how much financial assistance is available in the USA.