PRINTER'S NO. 9
No. 7 Special Session No. 1 of 2007-2008
INTRODUCED BY ERICKSON, MUSTO, STOUT, RAFFERTY, TARTAGLIONE,
C. WILLIAMS, O'PAKE, GREENLEAF, WONDERLING, FONTANA, WAUGH,
WASHINGTON, TOMLINSON AND BROWNE, OCTOBER 4, 2007
REFERRED TO ENERGY POLICIES, OCTOBER 4, 2007
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Solar Energy System Incentives Program; and
2 providing for powers and duties of the Pennsylvania Public
3 Utility Commission and the Department of Environmental
4 Protection and for incentives and rebates.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Solar Energy
9 System Incentives Program.
10 Section 2. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Account." The Solar Energy System Incentives Account
15 consisting of funds appropriated from the General Assembly or
16 received from Federal grants and loans.
17 "Commission." The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
18 "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
1 the Commonwealth.
2 "Solar energy system." Equipment that provides for the
3 collection and use of incident solar energy for water heating,
4 space heating or cooling or other applications that would
5 normally require a conventional source of energy such as
6 petroleum products, natural gas or electricity that performs
7 primarily with solar energy. In other systems in which solar
8 energy is used in a supplemental way, only those components that
9 collect and transfer solar energy shall be included in this
10 definition.
11 "Solar photovoltaic system." A device that converts incident
12 sunlight into electrical current.
13 "Solar thermal system." A device that traps heat from
14 incident sunlight in order to heat water.
15 "Sustainable Energy Fund PV Grant Program." Pennsylvania's
16 Sustainable Energy Fund, established under the Pennsylvania
17 Public Utility Commission's restructuring orders under 66
18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 28 (relating to restructuring of electric utility
19 industry).
20 Section 3. Account.
21 (a) Establishment of account.--The Solar Energy System
22 Incentives Account is hereby established in the General Fund to
23 be utilized by the department for the creation, development,
24 administration, management and implementation of the Solar
25 Energy System Incentives Program established under this act.
26 (b) Moneys deposited in account.--All of the following
27 moneys shall be deposited into the account:
28 (1) Federal or State funds or both appropriated by the
29 General Assembly for the purposes of this act.
30 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
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1 contrary, any interest earned upon money deposited into the
2 account.
3 (c) Continuous appropriation.--
4 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), notwithstanding
5 any other provision of law to the contrary, the money in the
6 account is continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal
7 years to the department for the implementation and
8 administration of the program.
9 (2) The money in the account may be expended by the
10 department for the implementation and administration of the
11 program only upon appropriation by the General Assembly.
12 Section 4. Solar Energy System Incentives Program established.
13 (a) Establishment.--There is established within the
14 department the Solar Energy System Incentives Program.
15 (b) Purpose.--The program shall provide for the creation,
16 development, administration, management and implementation of a
17 program to provide financial incentives for the purchase and
18 installation of solar energy systems. Any resident of this
19 Commonwealth who purchases and installs a new solar energy
20 system of 1.0 kilowatts or larger for a solar photovoltaic
21 system, or a solar energy system that provides at least 30% of a
22 building's hot water consumption for a solar thermal system from
23 July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2015, is eligible for a rebate on
24 a portion of the purchase price of that solar energy system.
25 Section 5. Solar photovoltaic system incentive.
26 (a) Eligibility requirements.--A solar photovoltaic system
27 qualifies for a rebate if:
28 (1) The system is installed by a master electrician,
29 electrical contractor or solar contractor and is recognized
30 by the Sustainable Energy Fund PV Grant Program or similar
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1 program developed by the department.
2 (2) The system complies with State interconnection
3 standards as approved by the commission.
4 (3) The system complies with all applicable electrical
5 and electrician and building codes as determined by State and
6 local jurisdictional authority.
7 (b) Rebate amounts.--The rebate amount shall be set at $3
8 per watt based on the total nominal wattage rating of the
9 system. The maximum allowable rebate per solar photovoltaic
10 system installation shall be as follows:
11 (1) Twenty thousand dollars for a residence.
12 (2) Three hundred thousand dollars for a place of
13 business, a publicly owned or operated facility or a facility
14 owned or operated by a private, not-for-profit organization,
15 including condominiums, housing associations or apartment
16 buildings.
17 Section 6. Solar thermal system incentive.
18 (a) Eligibility requirements.--A solar thermal system
19 qualifies for a rebate if:
20 (1) The system is installed by a plumbing contractor or
21 solar contractor and is recognized by the Sustainable Energy
22 Fund PV Grant Program or similar program developed by the
23 department.
24 (2) The system complies with all applicable electrical,
25 electrician and building codes as determined by State and
26 local jurisdictional authority.
27 (b) Rebate amounts.--Authorized rebates for installation of
28 solar thermal systems for the first two years after the
29 effective date of this act and thereafter set by the department
30 shall be as follows:
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1 (1) One thousand dollars for a residence.
2 (2) Twenty percent of the cost up to a maximum of $5,000
3 for a place of business, a publicly owned or operated
4 facility, or a facility owned or operated by a not-for-profit
5 entity, including condominiums, homeowners associations and
6 apartment buildings. British thermal units (Btu) must be
7 verified by approved metering equipment.
8 Section 7. Rebate availability.
9 The department shall determine and publish public information
10 on an Internet website on the availability of funds and other
11 details, including the amount of rebate money remaining in the
12 fund. The total dollar amount of all rebates issued by the
13 department is subject to the total amount of appropriations in
14 any fiscal year for this program. If funds are insufficient
15 during the current fiscal year to meet qualifying application
16 needs, any requests for rebates received during the fiscal year
17 may be processed during the following fiscal year. Requests for
18 rebates received in a fiscal year that are processed during the
19 following fiscal year shall be given priority over requests for
20 rebates received during the following fiscal year. The
21 department shall set the rebate level as market conditions deem
22 appropriate after the first two years from the effective date of
23 this act.
24 Section 8. Standards.
25 To be eligible for solar photovoltaic incentives, solar
26 photovoltaic system equipment must comply with the hardware
27 standards criteria defined under the Sustainable Energy Fund PV
28 Grant Program or set forth by the commission. These systems must
29 be verified and inspected as defined by the commission, as
30 applicable. To be eligible for solar thermal incentives, solar
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1 thermal system equipment must comply with the hardware standards
2 criteria defined by the commission. These systems must be
3 verified and inspected as defined by the commission, as
4 applicable.
5 Section 9. Effective date.
6 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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