Pennsylvania Sunshine Solar Rebate Program

The Pennsylvania Sunshine program offers rebates to residential and small commercial residents that install photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal. It was authorized in July 2008 by the state legislature and began accepting applications in May 2009 under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Only systems installed after the date of program opening are eligible for rebates. A total of $100 million (funded through state bonds) is available for rebates over the lifetime of the program. The DEP expects the program as a whole to last three to four years.

All residential applicants must be Pennsylvania residents, own the home upon which the system is installed, and use it as a primary residence (i.e., vacation homes and investment properties do not qualify for residential rebates). Low-income residents (60% or less of median state income) are eligible for higher incentives than other applicants.

It is important to note that residents do not submit incentive applications themselves. Applications must be submitted on behalf of the applicant by J.K. Mechanical as an approved installer. Households are eligible for only one PV and one solar thermal rebate.

The program is set up to provide rebates that decline over time as certain benchmarks, or "steps", of installed capacity are reached. Each residential PV step contains 10 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity. Solar thermal incentives will be stepped down at intervals of 1,500 installed systems. The program website contains a tally of installed projects to inform homeowners and installers of the incentive status.

The list below describes incentive levels and other program rules as they stood at the date of program opening.
•Residential PV: $2.25/W for systems of 1-10 kilowatts (kW). Systems larger than 10 kW are eligible, but incentives are limited to first 10 kW

•Small Business PV: $1.75/W for systems of 3-10 kW; $1.50/W for next 90 kW; and $1.25/W for next 100 kW. Systems larger than 200 kW are eligible, but incentives are limited to first 200 kW

•Solar Thermal: 25% of installed system cost, with maximums of $2,000 for residences and $20,000 for small businesses

•Low-Income (PV and Solar Thermal): 35% of installed costs (the maximum rebate authorized by the enabling legislation)

All work must be performed by approved installers, and systems are subject to a variety of equipment and installation requirements. The application procedures generally require that systems be grid-connected.
Ownership of renewable energy credits (RECs) or other environmental attributes produced by rebated systems is not addressed in the program rules; however, Pennsylvania's net metering rules grant the customer-generator title RECs generated by net metered systems unless the customer assigns them to another entity or specifically rejects ownership.