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You might have heard about the new solar deadline of November 15th to sign up for solar. Today we sat down with Kelly Curtis with Solaroo Energy to discuss the benefits of signing up for solar before this upcoming deadline.
Current Net Metering Ends November 15
The recent settlement between Rocky Mountain Power and the Solar Industry set a deadline of November 15 to sign up for the current net metering program, which governs residential and commercial solar customers. Current customers and those that sign up before the deadline will be grandfathered into this program for 18 years, during which the utility cannot impose fees or any charges that aren’t charged to everyone else.
Mr. Curtis notes, “This guarantee was a big win. We have always believed that it is unfair to discriminate against solar customers when we are the ones investing in producing our own energy. This settlement guarantees that can’t happen for a long time.”
Higher Value of Energy
One of the reasons the current solar net metering program is beneficial is that it gives you full value for a kilowatt-hour that you export into the grid. After November 15, however, that value will be going down.
“It will go down slightly,” explains Mr. Curtis, “You will still get full value for every kilowatt-hour you produce and use directly in your home, but the value for energy that you export into the grid will go down about 7-8%. You will still save money, and solar will still be cheaper than utility power, but it is definitely better to sign up now.”
Utah State Solar Tax Credit
Not only will the net metering taper down its value for solar customers, but the Utah State solar tax credit is also set to step down from $2,000 to $1,600 for installations starting January 1, 2018. This is yet another reason why 2017 is the year for solar.
“This is the last year for the full tax credits for residences,” Mr. Curtis remarks, “It will go down $400 at the end of the year. For commercial customers, it will remain the same.”
“Even though we are giving up a little value of a kilowatt-hour in this settlement,” Mr. Curtis explains, “We did receive a lot of guarantees – 18 years for existing customers and those who sign up before November 15, and 15 years for those who sign up after. That is a level of certainty that most states do not have.” For more information about how to sign up for solar before November 15, please visit our website.
