Low-income households in California may soon have access to one of the best solar and battery incentives in the country and an opportunity to drastically lower their energy costs.<\/p>\n
On November 2, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proposed rules for allocating $280 million for the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)<\/a>. Historically, this program has been restricted to rebates for battery storage. However, the CPUC proposal would increase the battery incentive and\u00a0<\/em>create a solar rebate for eligible low-income households.<\/p>\n Keep in mind, this is only a proposal at this point! A final vote could come as early as March 7 and changes could be made before then. Check back for updates.<\/em><\/p>\n Under the new proposal, the “Residential Equity” SGIP incentive would increase from $850 per kWh of battery storage to $1,100 per kWh of battery storage\u00a0<\/strong>plus $3.10 per watt of solar.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>This category would also be renamed “Residential Solar and Storage Equity” to match the new incentives.<\/p>\n So, let’s say you are an eligible low-income household and want to install an 8 kW solar system with 10 kWh of backup battery<\/a>, here’s how much your SGIP incentives would increase under the new proposal.<\/p>\n That’s a massive difference! And while we hate to throw around the term “free solar<\/a>,” there may be cases in which the proposed SGIP incentives cover the entire cost of a solar and storage project.<\/p>\n It’s worth noting that this incentive\u00a0does not\u00a0<\/em>apply to roofing costs. However, up to $3,500 can be put toward wiring and panel upgrades and it can cover inverter replacements, if necessary.<\/p>\nNew SGIP incentive amounts proposed in 2024<\/h2>\n
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\n <\/td>\n Existing incentive<\/td>\n Proposed incentive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n SGIP category<\/td>\n Residential Equity<\/td>\n Residential Solar and Storage Equity<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Battery incentive (10 kWh)<\/td>\n $8,500<\/td>\n $11,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Solar incentive (8 kW)<\/td>\n N\/A<\/td>\n $24,800<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total incentive amount<\/strong><\/td>\n $8,500<\/strong><\/td>\n $35,800<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n