Sunsei GreenMeter Approved for Rebates in California

ICP Solar Technologies Inc., a developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary solar panels and products, today announced that the Company’s Sunsei® GreenMeter^TM has been approved for certain solar-based incentives in the State of California. Specifically, the GreenMeter^TM has been added to the list of approved products under California’s PMRS subsidy program, such that residents installing this unique ICP Solar application will qualify to receive rebates, tax credits, and other incentives under the “Go Solar California” initiative - a $2.2 billion program. The Sunsei® GreenMeter^TM is now listed as an eligible Meter and the associated web service is listed as an eligible Performance Monitoring and Reporting Service provider.

“California installers can now offer their clients an advanced, accurate metering and monitoring product with an even more attractive value proposition - making it easier to spur adoption of this innovative, solar-powered solution,” said Sass Peress, CEO. “Expanding into the California solar market - the largest in North America - is critical to our successful rollout out of the Sunsei® GreenMeter^TM and establishing it as the leading application of its kind.”

BusinessWire

Financial Incentives Mean California Home Solar Is Hot

While many in this troubled economy worry about making investments, Doris Dobkins didn’t think twice about sticking her money on her roof.

“Instead of paying PG&E, I’m paying myself,” said Dobkins, a Placer County homeowner who recently spent $36,000 for an electricity-generating solar system.

Based on projected savings in her electricity bills, a state rebate and a new federal tax credit, Dobkins expects to recoup her investment in six years.

The family anticipates saving $100 to $150 a month on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. bills, and the utility company will credit them for excess electricity generated, she said.

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The California Solar Initiative

A Decade of Support for Solar

The California Solar Initiative is part of the Go Solar California campaign and builds on 10 years of state solar rebates offered to customers in California’s investor-owned utility territories: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E.) The California Solar Initiative is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Since 1998, rebates for small solar energy systems were managed under the Emerging Renewables Program (ERP) at the California Energy Commission. In 2001, a second program that covered rebates for larger systems–over 30 kW–was assigned to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

In August 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger affirmed his support for solar energy, and announced the Million Solar Roofs program.

In January 2006, the CPUC collaborated with the Energy Commission to develop the framework of the California Solar Initiative Program through 2016.

In January 2007, the State of California launched Go Solar California, which included two new solar incentive programs, with slightly modified program requirements compared to the older programs. The Energy Commission provides incentives to energy efficient new home construction under the New Solar Homes Partnership. All other facilities in investor-owned utility territories receive rebates from the CPUC-administered program, the California Solar Initiative.

The new framework also included a major shift in the way solar incentives were calculated - away from a system that funded solar incentives based only on nameplate capacity and towards one where incentive levels are based on performance factors such as installation angle, tilt, and location. This performance framework ensures that California is generating clean solar energy and rewarding systems that can provide maximum solar generation.

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