LADWP - Solar Incentive Program

June 04, 2019

Summary

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (LADWP) Solar Incentive Program began in 2000, with a funding level of $150 million. The California Solar Initiative, created in 2007 upon the enactment of SB 1, established new guidelines for municipal utilities to follow, and established new funding levels. The LADWP Board of Commissioners approved the Solar Incentive Program Guideline Revisions on September 4, 2007, to comply with SB1. The revised program was suspended in early 2011, but was revised and relaunched on September 1, 2011.

The Solar Incentive Program has 10 phases with declining incentive levels as certain installed megawatt (MW) targets are met. There are separate goals for residential and non-residential participants, and the incentive levels for each will decline irrespective of the other. All incentives are adjusted for expected performance. Systems may be eligible for bonus incentives if they utilize equipment manufactured in LA or if the systems is building-integrated PV.

LADWP’s 10-year, $313 million Revised Solar Photovoltaic Rebate Program began in 2007 and will remain in effect through December 31, 2017, or until the total installed MW goal has been reached.

Program Overview

Implementing Sector: Utility
Category: Financial Incentive
State: California
Incentive Type: Rebate Program
Web Site: https://www.ladwp.com/
Administrator: Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
Start Date:
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:
  • Solar Photovoltaics
Incentive Amount: Incentives will step down over time. Current incentive levels as of 5/29/2018:
Residential: $0.25/W CEC-AC
Commercial: $0.30/W CEC-AC
Government/Non-profit: $0.95/W CEC-AC
Maximum Incentive: Up to 75% of project costs for residential, government and non-profit installations.
Up to 50% for commercial systems
The maximum system size for incentive payment is 1 MW AC per site, or per government, or per corporate parent per year.
2 MW may be reserved depending on fund availability
Eligible System Size: Minimum system size of 1 kW
Maximum system size of 5 MW
Equipment Requirements: Must use CEC-certified PV modules and inverters.
Custom modules not certified by UL 1703 may seek certification by the LA Department of Building and Safety Materials Test Lab. Specifications for solar equipment not listed by the CEC must also be provided to the LADWP Solar Group.
Warranty requirements: panels – 20 years; components – 10 years
Installation Requirements: The installer must be a properly licensed California contractor with an active A, B, C-10 or C-46 license.
Ownership of Renewable Energy Credits: RECs become the property of LADWP. Participants may elect to take a significantly smaller incentive than the base incentive in exchange for ownership of the RECs.

Incentives

This program has 3 incentives
Technologies: Solar Photovoltaics
Sectors: Residential
Parameters: The incentive is 0.25 $/W-CEC-AC
Technologies: Solar Photovoltaics
Sectors: Commercial, Industrial
Parameters: The incentive is 0.30 $/W-CEC-AC, The system has a minimum of 1.00 MW
Technologies: Solar Photovoltaics
Sectors: Local Government, Nonprofit
Parameters: The incentive is 0.95 $/W-CEC-AC, The system has a minimum of 1.00 MW

Contact

Name: Solar Program
Organization: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Address: 111 N. Hope St
Los Angeles CA 90051
Phone: (213) 367-4122
Email: solar@ladwp.com

This information is sourced from DSIRE; the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. Established in 1995, DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University.