Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Question about government PV rebates

M

Mike Payne

Jan 1, 1970
0
Florida just instituted a $4/watt rebate on any system 2Kwatt or larger.
The federal government is currently providing a $2000 tax rebate at the same
time. So I can get a $20K installed system for $10K after rebates.

So here's the question my brother immediately came up with after I told him
about the rebates, "How long do I have to keep the system to qualify for
the rebate?"

He wants to buy a 2 Kwatt system installed for $20K. Collect the $10K in
rebates and then immediately sell the system to the next sibling who
presumably would also then qualify for the $10K rebate.

Clearly this is immoral and wrong, etc. But I don't see anything in the law
that prevents it or makes it illegal. Since other states have had rebates
longer I'm wondering how they handle this situation.

mike
 
Mike Payne said:
He wants to buy a 2 Kwatt system installed for $20K. Collect the $10K in
rebates and then immediately sell the system to the next sibling who
presumably would also then qualify for the $10K rebate.

The systems in many states must be installed by certified installers in
order to qualify for the rebates.

They must be new equipment, not used.
Clearly this is immoral and wrong, etc. But I don't see anything in the
law that prevents it or makes it illegal. Since other states have had
rebates longer I'm wondering how they handle this situation.

Have a close look at the law. I suppose it is possible that florida didn't
write the law correctly. It is more likely they copied existing law from
somewhere else.

California runs the occasional audit of installations. Somewhere on the
http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/ site, I found a report of the spot
inspections that were done to verify that rebates were being paid for
properly installed systems. In amongst the details there seemed to be one
installer carefully oversizing the rebates. The state inspected all of his
sites. And there were people who had defective inverters, producing no
power, and a couple of them that had never been hooked up.


http://www.dsireusa.org should have pointers to programs in your area.
Florida: "who purchase and install a new PV system of 2 kW or larger"
I see the word "new" in their interpretation.
I don't see the actual Florida law.
 
M

Mike Payne

Jan 1, 1970
0
But there is no requirement that you keep the system after getting the
rebate. So you could collect the rebate then a month later sell the parts
on ebay. All the money would be in the panels and the invertor. Both
should sell quickly on ebay. I haven't seen any part of any state's law
that requires me to keep the system or even to keep it running.
 
W

William P.N. Smith

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike Payne said:
But there is no requirement that you keep the system after getting the
rebate. So you could collect the rebate then a month later sell the parts
on ebay. All the money would be in the panels and the invertor. Both
should sell quickly on ebay. I haven't seen any part of any state's law
that requires me to keep the system or even to keep it running.

"Your brother" wanted to sell it as used and then reinstall it on
another house [rinse, lather, repeat], but that doesn't work if it's
got to be new equipment installed by a certified installer unless the
installer is in on the scam, and he's got a lot more to lose than
"your brother" does. If Florida has a good rebate program, he's
probably got as much legitimate work as he can handle anyway...
 
Mike Payne said:
But there is no requirement that you keep the system after getting the
rebate. So you could collect the rebate then a month later sell the parts
on ebay. All the money would be in the panels and the invertor. Both
should sell quickly on ebay. I haven't seen any part of any state's law
that requires me to keep the system or even to keep it running.

Used equipment wouldn't be eligible for rebate to the second buyer.
If you were grid tied, and your brother wasn't, perhaps you could
buy/install/rebate, and then sell to him at your cost. In California,
there are followup spot inspections. I didn't notice if those were within
a required time period, or what comment was made about systems that had
been uninstalled after the rebate was paid.
 
there are followup spot inspections. I didn't notice if those were within
a required time period, or what comment was made about systems that had
been uninstalled after the rebate was paid.

I looked through some paperwork. I agreed to participate in surveys and
oeprational audits for a period of three years when I applied for the
California rebates.
 
Top