What happens to the solar industry in Colorado after the rebates are gone?
Eric from Standard Renewable Energy sat down with me for an interview a couple of weeks ago.
SolarDave: After the solar rebates are gone in Colorado do you see the solar industry slowing down?
Eric Van Orden: I don’t expect them to. I think Xcel is really dedicated to providing to the solar industry. As well as the Colorado, Denver government – very interested in our new energy economy.
I think there will be things put in place to continue are success. If that is not the case I think energy rates will reach grid parity which will make it more attractive for a solar installation.
New Jersey just just lost there rebate program a few months ago and since they pay so much for electricty it still makes sense for solar.
The Xcel rebates are a great deal and it makes sense with or without the rebates everyone should be taking advantage of the Xcel rebates.
SolarDave: When do you see them going away?
Eric Van Orden: At this point they are funded to do 16mega watts of installations. Next year they projected 4M Watts, so the general solar market will be smaller. I am not sure how that will affect the companies that are involved in it. There will be less opportunities for the rebates next year.
If you follow other markets like California it started with excellent rebates and slowly trickle down so since this is the start of the program with Xcel it is the best time to install and take advantage of the rebates and the tax credit which is going away at the end of the year.
