The Self-Technology Incentive Program (SGIP) in California is among the finest incentives for owners who wish to pair a photo voltaic battery with their photo voltaic panel system. The state of California is already a pacesetter within the photo voltaic trade, and SGIP is slated to make it one of many prime states for battery storage, too.
By chopping the prices of a photo voltaic battery by one-third, the SGIP battery rebate permits California owners to have entry to dependable, clear vitality – which is extra vital than ever with the coronavirus pandemic and more and more intense wildfire seasons within the Golden State.
What is SGIP?
SGIP is an incentive program run by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
About 80% of this system’s price range is allotted to vitality storage programs, due to the passing of Senate Bill 700 in 2018. SGIP gives folks with an upfront rebate that’s primarily based on the storage capability of the battery they set up.
The earlier you apply for SGIP, the larger the rebate you’ll obtain. It is because SGIP has a tiered fee construction, which suggests the SGIP incentive quantity decreases as extra batteries are put in.
Your incentive fee not solely depends upon once you apply to this system, but additionally what sort of venture it’s. For instance, a large-scale battery set up at a manufacturing unit will qualify for a special incentive quantity than a small battery put in in your house.
The remaining 20% of the SGIP price range is reserved for rebates for different “behind-the-meter” distributed era applied sciences, equivalent to wind generators, waste-to-heat energy, fuel-cells, and pressure-reduction generators that assist lower greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions within the state.
What’s new with the SGIP rebate?
In January 2020, the CPUC approved extra funding for SGIP. The approval offered an extra $675 million for this system and prolonged it till 2024. Which means there’s over $1 billion in incentives out there by SGIP.
Nearly all of the funds had been funneled into the latest part of SGIP – The Equity Resiliency Budget. The Fairness Resiliency Price range was created in response to the rise of wildfires and Public Security Energy Shutoffs (PSPS) (AKA deliberate energy outages) all through California.
To qualify for the fairness resiliency price range, a buyer should:
- Be thought of a low-income buyer
- Dwell in a Tier 3 or Tier 4 fireplace threat space
- Dwell in an space that has skilled two or extra PSPS occasions
- Be a vital facility that companies a deprived group, excessive fireplace threat space, or PSPS-affected space
Power storage initiatives that meet these standards will obtain a considerable SGIP incentive of $1,000 per kWh of battery storage put in. This elevated rebate fee is believed to extend entry to battery storage for essentially the most weak prospects by protecting nearly the whole value of putting in battery storage.
The brand new price range additionally allotted about $60 million to common residential initiatives. This has allowed SGIP to increase past its authentic “5 step” design. Now, the SGIP residential program is in Step 6, with an incentive stage of $200 per kWh of photo voltaic battery storage put in.
What are the present SGIP incentive charges?
With the intention to qualify for SGIP, candidates should be both a business, industrial, agricultural, or residential buyer of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), SoCalGas, Southern California Edison (SCE), or San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Different California residents can apply by the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE). PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, SDG&E, and CSE are all SGIP Program Directors, which distribute the incentives to candidates.
The SGIP rebate for battery storage is separated into 5 venture varieties, every with their very own incentive fee. Let’s check out what incentive charges can be found for every venture kind by Program administrator.
1. Middle for Sustainable Power (CSE)
| Mission kind | Present step | Incentive fee |
|---|---|---|
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) | Step 3 | $350/kWh |
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) with ITC | Step 3 | $250/kWh |
| Residential storage (≤10 kW) | Step 7 | $150/kWh |
| Residential fairness storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $850/kWh |
| Residential fairness resiliency storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $1,000/kWh |
2. Southern California Edison (SCE)
| Mission kind | Present step | Incentive fee |
|---|---|---|
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) | Step 4 | $300/kWh |
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) with ITC | Step 4 | $220/kWh |
| Residential storage (≤10 kW) | Step 6 | $200/kWh |
| Residential fairness storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $850/kWh |
| Residential fairness resiliency storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $1,000/kWh |
3. SoCal Fuel
| Mission kind | Present step | Incentive fee |
|---|---|---|
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) | Step 3 | $350/kWh |
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) with ITC | Step 3 | $250/kWh |
| Residential storage (≤10 kW) | Step 6 | $200/kWh |
| Residential fairness storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $850/kWh |
| Residential fairness resiliency storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $1,000/kWh |
4. Pacific Fuel and Electrical (PG&E)
| Mission kind | Present step | Incentive fee |
|---|---|---|
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) | Step 4 | $300/kWh |
| Giant-scale storage (>10 kW) with ITC | Step 4 | $220/kWh |
| Residential storage (≤10 kW) | Step 7 | $150/kWh |
| Residential fairness storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $850/kWh |
| Residential fairness resiliency storage (≤10 kW) | Step 5 | $1,000/kWh |
How a lot are you able to save on a battery storage system with SGIP?
Making the choice to put in a battery storage system in your house may be an costly funding. SGIP can assist soften the blow of the upfront set up prices of putting in a battery.
Proper now, for instance, SCE’s residential prospects will obtain $200 per kilowatt hour (kWh) of vitality storage they set up. Which means a ten kWh photo voltaic battery would qualify for a $2,000 rebate!
The value of set up will likely be even decrease once you take the 26% investment tax credit (ITC) into account.
How to apply for the SGIP rebate
Applying for the SGIP rebate is easy! Usually, the installer of your energy storage system will do all the work for you, so you don’t have to worry about the application process.
The CPUC has released a guide with 4 steps for residence and enterprise homeowners to get began with the SGIP rebate:
- Analysis battery storage installers in your space to seek out which one is the perfect to your battery set up.
- Contact installers to get quotes on battery set up costs, what battery is best for you, in addition to what SGIP program class you qualify for.
- Choose your installer and work with them to finish your set up venture.
- Contact your Program Administrator with any additional questions.
What’s the way forward for SGIP?
SGIP has already spurred substantial progress of the photo voltaic battery trade in California. The extra funds for the small residential price range alone might doubtlessly help round 30,000 battery set up initiatives. That’s loads of batteries.
So, with extra funds in this system, plus extra frequent energy outages and folks spending extra time at residence due to the pandemic, we are able to count on to see a rise within the quantity of batteries being put in in California.
This not solely implies that the state is headed in the direction of a renewable vitality future, however there might be a rise in vitality storage jobs, as effectively.
Hopefully the success of the SGIP program will encourage different states to observe swimsuit and begin photo voltaic and storage incentive packages. To see what incentives and rebates can be found in your space, take a look at our photo voltaic financial savings calculator under.
Key takeaways
- California’s Self-Technology Incentive Program (SGIP) is a tiered fee construction incentive that gives rebates statewide for battery storage initiatives primarily based on the capability of the battery put in.
- It’s higher to use to SGIP sooner reasonably than later as a result of the inducement fee decreases as extra batteries are put in.
- A ten kWh residence photo voltaic battery set up can qualify for a rebate of both $1,500 or $2,000, relying in your utility.
- Often, the installer of your battery system will apply to SGIP for you so that you don’t have to fret concerning the utility.
- Extending the SGIP price range will probably improve the quantity of photo voltaic batteries put in within the state, in addition to improve the variety of California’s clear vitality jobs.
