Hey solarDwellers:

Looks like the rebates for very large solar projects(above 30kW) are too popular. There was $300 million set aside for these rebates for 2006, but according to this press release from the CEC as reported by Solarbuzz, there is a "trigger point" of 50 MW, meaning that once the cumulative requests for solar rebates has surpassed 50MW, the rebate amount is automatically lowered from $2.80/watt to $2.50/watt. The reasoning is that since the rebate money is being requested at such a fast pace, the rebate level is higher than it needs to be to stimulate sufficient demand in the solar market.

Personally I agree, especially because along with the state rebate, we have for the first time the federal tax credit of 30% which is uncapped for commercial installations. You can lower the state rebate, which will let it last longer and be available for a larger number of installations. And still, when combined with the fed tax credit, it is economically very attractive for commercial-size installations.

--the solarDweller
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