APS Solar Electric Strategy

One thing I would recommend to an APS client if they're looking to put in a solar electric system in the next year is to putting some time into understanding how the APS incentive reservation process works. Last year in January, APS was funding solar electric projects basically at a 50% level up to three dollars a watt. This was a great thing and had a lot of people very interested in doing solar, which is why the program received an unprecedented amount of solar electric reservations during the first quarter of this year.

Unfortunately one byproduct of the huge success of the program was a very quick depletion of the renewable funds APS set aside at the beginning of the year. So APS had to change their strategy and has now set up a system where they accept reservations for future solar projects and release money every quarter with a decreased incentive amount. For every 600 solar electric reservations APS receives, they drop the incentive by about $.15 a watt. This makes a pretty major impact on how fast your solar electric system will pay you back. The best strategy to combat the falling incentive is to put in a solar electric reservation with APS as soon as possible to hold your place in line at a higher incentive, rather than waiting until next year and losing more incentive in the process.

If you decide you want to put a solar electric system on your house next year, you can put your incentive request in now, wait until the second quarter of next year for APS to approve your project and then have one full year to install your system. So even if you're planning on placing a solar electric system on your house in early 2012, it is to your benefit to submit a solar electric reservation now. This smart strategy allows you to get the highest amount of incentive currently offered by APS and the luxury of installing your system within your timeline.

So I would highly recommend if someone's interested in putting in a solar electric reservation have a friendly Phoenix Green Team representative drop by your house and give you some free assistance in placing the reservations and help you size an appropriate system for your house and electric usage. Thank you for your time and I look forward to helping you make your home more energy efficient.