Boulder, Colorado, can have four seasons of the year, including a full winter, but that has not prevented this city of 100,000 inhabitants to embrace solar power in a big way, including solar hot water.
Home of the University of Colorado and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is not surprising that the citizens of Boulder would be very open to solar energy, but the opening is not installed solar energy. Incentives and competition make.
Boulder incentives for solar photovoltaic systems have been very generous until recently. Not long ago, Xcel Energy, the ancient city utility, is offered a discount of $ 3 per watt, beating thousands on the cost in advance. (Today, they are less than $ 1 per watt.)
In addition to photovoltaic solar energy, solar water heating is also thriving in Boulder, due to several local incentives and 30% federal tax credit investment (CCI).
Boulder's specific and State applicable solar water heating incentives include:
Solar scholarship program, which provides grants for solar installations of heating water in the home enrolled in the city, the affordable housing program. Organizations not lucrative and low to moderate income of nonprofit home ownership are also eligible for grants of up to 50% of the total out of his own pocket the costs of the project, after all discounts, tax credits and other incentives are subtracted.
Funding PACE: even though the program is currently suspended, PACE (assessed clean energy property) Boulder was great popularity while it lasted. Locally known as the "ClimateSmart loan program", homeowners could install solar water heaters for money hardly down and receives a market rate of the 15-year loan with an additional benefit: since the loan was backed by a municipal bond, a tax lien was placed in the home. For what is that a benefit? Because that means that if the owner sells the House before the age of 15, the loan balance (and the solar system) automatically transfer to the new owner. Normally, loans for improvements have to be paid in full when the property is sold. Unfortunately, the programme conflicted with mortgage loans backed by Fannie Mae, and now the programs of PACE throughout the country are suspended... for now.
Sales tax incentives: the city of Boulder established a reduction in solar thermal energy that offers a refund of 15% sales tax paid by residential or commercial solar installation. In addition, the State of Colorado gives commercial, Government and non-profit exemption of 100% of tax for any purchase of the solar system, including the solar hot water.
As a result of the above (and a Government of the solar city of support and the community), went through many solar water heating in Boulder, including the installation of the plate flat (pictured above) installed at the top of the Boulder Recreation Center.