SMUD increases funds for popular solar program [Sacramento 2005.7.06]
New program is contractor-driven and utility provides incentives

source: press release 2005.07.06

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) solar rebates are so popular with customers that
the utility added another $150,000 in rebates to meet the demand. The program, PV Pioneer 2, provides
financial incentives for contractors to pass on to customers. SMUD is also marketing the program and
provides customers a list of approved contractors to seek competitive bids. Since January, SMUD has
referred more than 400 customers to contractors.

PV Pioneer 2 is one part of SMUD’s long-term vision for solar technology. The program kicked
off in January and by April the initial $350,000 of incentive money was exhausted. SMUD approved an
additional $150,000 to keep the program going.

SMUD provides $3.00 per watt in rebate money, saving the customer about $6,000 on the
installation of a typical 2-kilowatt system, which can sell for about $16,000. The customer owns the
system and the power generated by it. SMUD credits the owner for any excess power the customer does
not use and feeds back to the grid.

SMUD has been a utility leader in the development and implementation of solar technology for
more than 20 years and has approximately 10 megawatts of PV installed across a territory of about
540,000 customers. That history includes incubating and fostering a local solar contractor base that has
now taken over the marketing, sales, and installations of PV systems. A previous version of PV Pioneer 2
saw SMUD doing all the sales and installations.

SMUD’s first customer solar program, PV Pioneer 1, which began in 1993, had 500 customers
volunteer to have SMUD purchase, install, and maintain PV systems on their roofs. The customers paid a
monthly fee to help pay administrative costs. As a result of the program, the industry learned more about
the technology, the costs dropped, and a local service market was developed. Now there are local
businesses qualified to sell, install, and maintain solar power systems.

SMUD is developing another solar frontier: working with builders to integrate solar panels into
the building design of new homes further reducing costs of materials and labor and ultimately customers’
electric bills.

Solar power helps reduce the amount of electricity SMUD has to purchase, saving all customers
money. As a renewable energy source, solar power helps offset emissions from power plants that
generate electric power using fossil fuels. For more information about any of SMUD’s renewable energy
programs, visit www.smud.org, or call 1-888-742-SMUD (7683).

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Recent SMUD news releases are available at: http://www.smud.org/news/news.html