LIPA rescinds cap on solar energy rebates

The Long Island Power Authority Thursday removed a recently instituted cap on rebates for eligible solar-energy system installations after several large solar installation companies criticized it.

LIPA instituted the cap just last month in response to high demand for its rebates, much of it from leasing companies that were recently made eligible for them. Some companies said the cap left them no choice other than to lay off workers, and limit plans for regional expansion.

LIPA, in a statement, didn't explain specifically why it removed the cap, but said it was "originally put in place to help stabilize the program to address the rapid demand for solar and allow for more LIPA customers to participate."

Companies that had been affected by the cap said they had taken their criticism of the move to LIPA, its trustees, and to state officials in Albany.

The cap had limited individual contractors to $75,000 in rebates per month. High-volume installers, including the leasing companies, said the cap sliced their rebated-funded jobs to six or seven a month, compared with the dozens for which they had budgeted. LIPA also cut the amount it pays in rebates to 99 cents a watt. For a 10-kilowatt system, that amounts to $9,900, around a quarter of the total system cost.