Black Hills Energy: On-Site Solar PV Rebate Program

Black Hills Energy (formerly Aquila) has an On-Site Solar PV Rebate Program which provides incentives for its customers to install photovoltaic (PV) systems on their homes and facilities. In exchange for these incentives, Black Hills Energy earns the right to the renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with the PV-generated electricity for a period of time.

Incentives for customer-owned PV systems less than or equal to 3 kilowatts (kW) will be calculated as follows:

• An up-front rebate of $1 per DC watt; and
• Performance-based incentive (PBI) payments of $0.0945 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of actual electricity production, paid annually for the first 9 years of operation

Incentives for customer-owned PV systems greater than 3 kW and up to 10 kW will be calculated as follows:

• An up-front rebate of $0.75 per DC watt up to $4,500; and
• PBI payments of $0.0945 per kWh of actual electricity production of first 6 kW*, paid annually for the first 9 years of operation.

Incentives for third party-owned PV systems less than or equal to 3 kilowatts (kW) will be calculated as follows:

• PBI payments of $0.1224 per kWh of actual electricity production, paid annually for the first 10 years of operation.

Incentives for third party-owned PV systems greater than 3 kW and up to 10 kW will be calculated as follows:

• PBI payments of $0.1080 per kWh of actual electricity production of first 6 kW*, paid annually for the first 10 years of operation.

Incentives for PV systems greater than 10 kW up to 30 kW will be calculated as follows:

• An up-front rebate of $0.25 per DC watt; and
• PBI payments of $0.2250 per kWh of actual electricity production, paid annually for the first 9 years of operation

Incentives for PV systems greater than 30 kW and up to 60 kW will be calculated as follows:

• An up-front rebate of $0.23 per DC watt; and
• PBI payments of $0.2160 per kWh of actual electricity production, paid annually for the first 9 years of operation

Incentives for PV systems greater than 60 kW and up to 100 kW will be calculated as follows:

• An up-front rebate of $0.20 per DC watt; and
• PBI payments of $0.2070 per kWh of actual electricity production, paid annually for the first 9 years of operation

All incentive payments are subject to the availability of funds and a pre-installation site inspection. Black Hills Energy has established participation caps for each tier. The status of funding availability for each tier is available on the website above. Black Hills Energy recommends using a qualified PV installation contractor from a list furnished by the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA), available at www.coseia.org.

* This is calculated using a ratio based on the actual system size compared to 6 kW.  For example, a customer who installs a 10 kW system would receive a payment based on 6/10 of the electricity produced by the system.