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(First published June 2008, updated 2009)
Ever dreamed of having solar
panels on your roof or a wind
turbine in the back yard? It's certainly a goal of mine; one I was able to
partially achieve recently.
While prices on solar installations and other forms of green power options have
certainly come down in recent years, renewable energy technology is still
out of the reach for most of us - or is it?
A few years back when I priced a small system for the little place I had
in the outback, it was around $USD 3,000 - that was just enough to run my
notebook 12 hours a day, basic lighting and a few peripheral items. To power our
house was in the region of $USD 25,000 - $30,000.
Prices have dropped substantially and last year I was able to get together a
mobile solar rig for my outback adventures for around the $USD $1,300 mark
(around $1,600 AUD at current exchange rates), but one for the house is still
out of reach without some sort of substantial assistance.
It's been encouraging to see in recent times many governments becoming
increasingly aware that as part of the battle against global warming, they need
to plow some very serious cash into renewable energy - including rebates, grants
and other financial incentives to householders, businesses and community groups.

Renewable energy options such as wind and solar power
might now be in your reach thanks to government rebates!
(Image courtesy of Energy
Matters)
Here in Australia we have rebate programs in place these days for the
purchase of renewable energy systems - up to AUD$ 9,000 for residential grid
connect installations and under the new solar
credits scheme. There are also feed in tariffs in some states that pay you a
premium rate for the electricity generated by your system.
Another example, this time in the USA, is in California where quite
generous rebates are on offer - for example, a rebate of $2.50 per watt is
available for wind turbines of up to 30kW. For folks in Oregon, The
Energy Trust of Oregon offers cash rebates up to $10,000 for Oregon
customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric who install new
grid-connected solar electric systems.
While the rebates still won't make the initial purchase of green power
hardware attainable by some, it will open the renewable energy door for
others and hopefully with increased demand; technology and production
efficiencies; we'll see pricing drop further across the board on items such as
solar panels and wind turbines.
Finding current information on renewable energy rebates can be a bit of a
hassle, so I thought it might be useful to attempt to list some of the various
rebate resources available online. I'd really welcome feedback so I can expand
on the list (particularly additional countries) and to help me keep it up to
date!
USA
President Obama has made renewable energy a priority and all sorts of
rebates and incentives are available at both a federal and state level.
Green Made Simple
is a free online service that allows you to find local residential
energy efficiency rebates by just entering your zip code.
The Database of State
Incentives For Renewables and Efficiency is a comprehensive source of
information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and rebates that
promote renewable energy. It was amazing to see how much financial assistance is
available in the USA.
Canada
Office of Energy Efficiency Grants
and Incentives
Australia
Solar
credits program
- offers up to $9,000 in rebates on grid connect systems for home, business and
community groups.
Renewable
Remote Power Generation Programme
- supporting renewable energy in remote areas
Solar
Hot Water Rebates
- helping Australian households install greenhouse friendly hot water
technologies
Feed
in tariffs
- State by state summary of programs that pay owners of solar power system
owners a premium for the electricity they produce.
UK
The Low
Carbon Buildings Programme provides grants for renewable energy technologies
to householders, schools, the public, non-profits and private businesses.
Currently, householders can apply for grants of up to £2,500
per property towards the cost of installing a certified product by a certified
installer.
Ireland
Action
Renewables provides advice regarding specific
types of renewable energy and associated grant support available.
If you know of other rebate schemes for renewable energy related equipment in
these or other countries, please add a comment below, even if it's just a link.
I'll look into it and add it to this article! Thanks in advance!
By the way, if self-generated renewable energy is just totally out of your
reach for now, consider green
tags as a way of providing cleaner power for your home or check with your
utility about green power options. There's also some links to articles on
saving electricity below. Reducing electricity consumption is an important part
of lessening your energy related environmental impact - and you'll save cash
too!