City of Palo Alto Utilities: PV Partners

The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) PV Partners Program offers incentives to customers that install qualifying PV systems. The program, which has a budget of approximately $13 million over 10 years, is divided into 10 steps (residential incentives have 12 steps), each funded at $1.3 million. Each step is allocated across four customer rate classes -- residential, small/medium commercial, large commercial and non-profit/public sector -- with a specified PV capacity allocated to it. Rebate levels will drop $0.20 per watt as the incentive level moves to the next step.

Incentive levels as of 1/5/2012 are described below. For current levels, consult the program web site above.

• Residential: $1.20/watt AC (no maximum)
• Small/Medium Commercial (Rate E-2, E-4) <30 kW: $2.60/watt AC
• Small/Medium Commercial (Rate E-2, E-4) 30 kW and greater: PBI $0.33/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 60 months
• Large Commercial (Rate E-7) <30 kW: $2.00/watt AC
• Large Commercial (Rate E-7) 30 kW and greater: PBI $0.25/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 60 months

Funding for the program is renewed each year on July 1, with additional funding brought forward from future program years as needed. Special incentives for non-profit and public sector installations were terminated on July 20, 2010. Funds remaining from this set aside have been added to the fund for the small and medium commercial sector. Non-profits and public sector entities may still be eligible to receive incentives through the program for small and medium commercial.

Interested customers should see the 2012 Program Guidelines for more information.