Upcoming rebate application period expected to fuel solar growth in North Carolina
Duke Energy will open another application period for its solar rebate program in North Carolina on Jan. 2, 2019, a $62 million program that has already attracted strong interest from customers who have installed rooftop solar systems and qualified for rebates.
The program delivered $6 million in rebates to more than 1,300 customers who qualified so far this year. The rebate program launched earlier this summer and was fully subscribed within weeks, with both residential and non-residential customers scrambling to apply. The program will continue through 2022, and Duke Energy said it expects 7,500 customers to receive solar rebates by then.
As for next year, the application will cover an additional 20 megawatts of new rooftop solar installations. Residential, non-residential and nonprofit customers can apply. Customers wait-listed in 2018 and who have already installed projects will be able to collect any available rebates as well.
Residential customers can regain 60 cents per watt for solar energy systems of 10 kilowatts (kW) or less under the rebate system. Those with systems of 10 kW or higher tap out a maximum $6,000 rebate. Nonresidential customers are eligible for less, at 50 cents per watt, while nonprofit customers are eligible for more, at 75 cents per watt, as long as those systems are 100 kW or less.
The Duke Energy solar rebate program is being implemented by Duke Energy as part of the Competitive Energy Solutions for North Carolina law passed in 2017.
