San Francisco Solar Energy Incentive Program Info

• A large goal of the project is to streamline and minimize paper work, so the application process is almost identical to the California Solar Initiative credit structure. If you qualify for one, you qualify for the other.
• Only existing buildings qualify -No new construction
• The rebate is assignable just like the state credit, to either the consumer or the installer, or a third party.
• Unlike the State Rebate (which actually is, in fact, a rebate…. look on the back of your power bill under public purpose programs… you have been paying for it for years), the SF local credit is a cash incentive payment, meaning whoever receives it must report it as income.
• The subsidy is retroactive to any San Francisco home or business owner who made a written commitment to install after December 11th, 2007

FAQ

Q: Will these incentive funds be targeted at businesses or residences?

A: The incentives will initially be paid out on a first come, first served basis among all applicants.

Q: How do I qualify for the incentive?

A: Either by qualifying for the California Solar Incentive or by providing equivalent information to the program administrator in San Francisco. The goal will be to minimize the paperwork and bureaucracy to get the incentive to those who are installing solar.

Will there be incentive payments available for other types of renewable energy systems?

A: The City is always interested in fostering new and innovative energy ideas. The solar energy industry and incentives are more established at this point and thus this program is tailored to make an immediate impact in that field. However, the ordinance specifically calls for the program to be expanded to other energy systems if the program administrator finds that such an expansion would provide similar benefits.

Q: Will I my property assessment rise if I vote for the Solar GO Bond Measure but don’t want to install solar?

A: No. Although the City needs voter approval to establish the most favorable lending terms with the help of the City’s general obligation bond credit rating, the ballot measure requires that all amounts borrowed must be fully repaid by the individual borrowers and not the property tax base as a whole.

Q: Will the addition of a rooftop solar energy system (without financing from the City’s loan program) increase my property taxes?

A: No, State law excludes solar from new construction assessment so your property taxes will not be affected by the addition of solar.

Q: If I take out a loan will I need to pay it off when I sell my house, as I would for conventional mortgages and home equity loans?

A: Not necessarily. Along with the ballot measure the City is working on ways to establish a unique special taxing district where solar loan program borrowers can opt in by filing a simple form to levy a special tax on themselves to repay the loan. If adopted, the special tax loan repayment structure means that the obligation to make the special tax payments automatically passes to the next owner. A borrower would not need to pay off the loan out of the equity remaining after the sale.

Q: Will my loan repayment amounts increase over time, as seen recently with many adjustable rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit?

A: No. The City’s goal in implementing the loan program will be to establish a fixed rate for all borrowings.

Q: Does the solar loan measure take needed bond authority away from seismic safety?

A: No. The Solar Loan measure repurposes only $50 million of the remaining unused $300+ million in GO Bond authority to the solar loan program (about 16% of the current bonding authority). Comparatively few unreinforced masonry buildings have yet to be retrofitted, and ample lending capacity for those buildings would be retained even if the new program is approved.

Q: Does this solar package compete with or diminish Community Choice Aggregation?

A: No, actually the opposite. The CCA program intends to generate locally a huge amount of renewable energy. Meeting this CCA goal will likely require installing both small-scale and large-scale renewable energy generation (solar, wind, etc). The CCA program will be able to utilize the solar incentive and loan program to increase the amount of smaller-scale solar installments across San Francisco that contribute to CCA’s renewable energy generation targets.

All local residents are eligible for these solar incentives, regardless of their electricity provider.

Q: Does this program cover solar thermal systems as well as photovoltaics?

A: No. The program is for PV only. It may change in the future to cover EXTRA renewable resources like wind, but for now it is only PV.

Q: I just finished installing a solar system, and the effective date for start of service (when PG&E installed the new meter) was in early January. Can I qualify for the rebate even though some of the work was done before December 11?

A: No. The date corresponds to when you made a “commitment” to install. That pretty much means when you signed the contract, which I’m assuming is WAY before start of service

Q: I already have a PV system but I want to expand it. Does this qualify?

A: No. New solar systems only.

Q: But I live in a condo or a townhouse with an HOA, will they let me get solar?

A: Yes, probably. By California Law they cannot stop you from getting solar based on aesthetics alone, there must be legitimate safety considerations.

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