LAST CHANCE! Vermont Electric Co-op closing solar program soon

Vermont Electric Co-op just announced that, as of Nov 30^th of this year, it will no longer allow customers to install solar at their homes. That’s right, in 3 weeks, VEC customers will not be able to go solar. We at SunCommon are scrambling to help folks get in under the wire.

We are disappointed that thousands of VEC customers will be unable to go solar due to VEC’s decision to close their net metering program for 2016 effective Nov 30. Just this year alone, SunCommon has been contacted by nearly 300 VEC households interested in going solar. With 34,000 VEC customers in Vermont we anticipate a rush of folks seeking solar before Nov 30. We lament the loss of this affordable, clean energy option for VEC customers.

What does this mean for you?

1Get Started! This is your last opportunity to go solar while enjoying the incredible savings from the 30% Federal incentive. Solar has never been as affordable as it is right now. Click here to Get Started.

2Get Involved! For you, and us, and everyone who supports clean energy – this is a big deal.  So we’re spreading the word.  Here’s where you come in.

Please share your love of solar and news of this impending mess with your friends, family and neighbors. An easy way to do that is through Front Porch Forum and Facebook. To save you time, we cooked up a little Public Service Announcement, which of course you can personalize and edit as you like.

I just learned that November 30 will be the last day a Vermont Electric Co-op customer can sign up to go solar, until 2017! That’s after the federal incentive expires.

VEC just announced it has hit its minimum requirement when it comes to allowing customers to build solar at their homes.  So the next 3 weeks are the last chance VEC customers have to go solar and take advantage of the really significant federal incentive. http://suncommon.com/vermont-electric-co-op-closing-solar-program/

3 Contact VEC! Share your disappointment regarding VEC’s net-metering closure. Andrea Cohen at 802-696-9036.

What is a net-metering cap?

As explained in Tuesday’s VTDigger.org article: “Net-metering is a program the Legislature established that requires utilities to buy back all power produced by certain renewable projects and do so at an increased rate. Instead of paying cash for the power, utilities must give enhanced bill credits for that amount to the […] homeowner. As part of the program, the Legislature sets a cap so that utilities only have to give these bill credits for a certain portion of their peak load. In 2014, the Legislature raised the net-metering cap to 15 percent and didn’t expect utilities to hit that number until the end of 2016.”

Vermont utilities are reaching their cap because of the incredible popularity of solar. In just 3.5 years, SunCommon has helped over 2,000 Vermont households go solar with hundreds more signing up every month.

VEC sought a cap on how much solar it has to allow its customers, and is now about to hit it – for 2015 AND 2016.  VEC will allow applications only until December 1, and then prohibit new solar until 2017 – after the federal incentive expires.  Wow.

What is the Federal incentive?

The Federal incentive allows you to claim up to 30% of the price you pay to install solar panels, which significantly reduces the cost of going solar. That’s $8,000-10,000 in savings for most households. But, the incentive is set to expire in 2016. So for VEC customers, this is a double whammy. They miss out on the opportunity to go solar in 2016 AND the 30% Federal incentive. There has never been a better time to go solar than right now.

Vermont Electric Co-op closing solar program