What are the Xcel Energy rebates and Black Hills Energy rebates?
At the direction of the people of Colorado, Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy offer two incentives to homeowners to put PV systems on their homes. The first is a straight rebate of $2.00/watt. This rebate is calculated by taking the power output of your PV system and multiplying it by $2.00. A REC is a Renewable Energy Credit. Renewable Energy Credits are generated by any green/renewable power source. They are often bought and sold on open markets. If a business or home buys RECs, it can effectively subsidize the production of renewable power, which offsets the energy they use. When you put your system PV system into service, Xcel Energy or Black Hills Energy will buy all the RECs that are scheduled to be generated by your system over 20 years. They put this into one up front REC payment of $1.50 per watt. Together the two incentives add up to $3.50 per watt.
