Texas

CPS Energy, San Antonio's municipal utility, offers rebates to customers who install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on their homes, schools, or businesses. There are four rebate "tiers" available depending on customer type and whether or not the customer is using a "local" registered CPS Energy Installer.* Third-party owned systems are not eligible for rebates (a customer must make the upfront financial investment). In all tiers, final rebate levels will be determined upon a final inspection from the utility. Unfavorable shading, angles or direction may influence the final rebate amount. The rebate is available to all CPS Energy customers for systems of at least 1000 watts (equivalent to 1 kilowatt) AC. CPS Energy will offer special considerations for systems larger than 100 kilowatts (kW), but such systems remain eligible for rebates.  The following "tiers" are in place:

• Tier One
  Eligibility: Schools (private or public) who use local, registered CPS Energy Installers
  Amount: $2.50 per watt (W) for the first 25 kilowatts (kW) and $1.30/W for any additional capacity up to either $100,000 or 50% of rebated equipment installation labor and material costs, whichever value is less. 
• Tier Two
  Eligibility: Residential Customers who use local, registered CPS Energy Installers
  Amount: $2.00/W up to $25,000 maximum or 50% of rebated equipment installation labor and material costs, whichever value is less.
• Tier Three
  Eligibility: Commercial Customers who use local, registered CPS Energy Installers
  Amount: $2.00/W for the first 25 kilowatts (kW) and $1.30/W for any additional capacity up to $100,000 maximum or 50% of rebated equipment installation labor and material costs, whichever value is less. .
• Tier Four
  Eligibility: Commercial Customers who do not use local, registered CPS Energy Installers
  Amount: $1.30/W up to $25,000 maximum or 50% of rebated equipment installation labor and material costs, whichever value is less. .

 
On an individual basis, rebate eligibility will be determined by a pre-inspection of the site. In order to ensure that rebated systems are efficient, safe, and productive, numerous equipment and installation requirements apply. System owners are responsible for obtaining all applicable permits and permissions required to install and operate the system and all work must be performed in accordance with all applicable federal, state, local, and manufacturer's codes and standards. CPS publishes interconnection guidelines for systems smaller than 25 kW. Rules for larger systems will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Rebate recipients will be required to sign an agreement handing over all of the renewable energy credits (RECs) produced by the system to CPS Energy.

The CPS Energy PV rebate program is funded out of the larger Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP) which also offered assistance for solar thermal systems and residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements. The solar rebate portion (PV and SWH) is expected to have a budget of roughly $2.5 million per year through 2020, although this could vary from year to year. See the May 2009 San Antonio Council Summary for additional information on the STEP program as a whole.

For further information on the solar rebate program please consult the website listed at the top of this page.

*CPS defines "local" as being located in CPS Energy territory with a CPS Energy electric account.