Looks like the state of California is pushing through yet another great incentive program for solar technology. This time it’s a permanent incentive program in Palo Alto for residents that switch to a solar water heater.

From the Palo Alto Daily News…

City residents who install solar water heaters at home or work soon will be eligible for a rebate of $1,500, in addition to a federal tax credit, said utilities account representative Amanda Cox, who will manage the new program when it launches next month.

On Monday, the city council approved a five-year, $730,000 contract with the Center for Sustainable Energy California, an independent nonprofit already running a solar water heater incentive pilot program in San Diego.

After the Palo Alto program launches May 17 at Greenstock - the city’s green festival - the nonprofit will help run the program, coordinating inspections, processing applications and giving technical advice through a phone hot line, Cox said.

The program is taking the place of an old incentive program they started in the 80’s. Early adopters would be an understatement in the case of Palo Alto. It’s still a bit pricey even with the rebate though, given that the average solar water heater installation will run you around $6000, but by avoiding paying for hot water, that would pay for itself in a fairly short time in most cases, and who doesn’t like tax credits?

California is really hitting solar tech hard these days. There really should be some serious thought put into programs like this at the Federal level, or at least for more wide-spread. I wish there was a similar program here, natural gas is getting absurdly expensive, I’d jump at the chance to take part in something like this. Of course if you, aren’t in an area with such a program(like me), you could always just build your own.

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