Searching for energy efficiency incentives?
Want money for becoming more energy efficient? Besides the obvious payoff of reduced energy bills, rebate and incentive dollars are out there if you know where to look
Jack Smith, Managing Editor; Source: DSIRE -- Plant Engineering, 11/2/2009 11:00:41 AM
Want money for becoming more energy efficient? Besides the obvious payoff of reduced energy bills, rebate and incentive dollars are out there if you know where to look.
MidAmerican Energy offers energy efficiency rebates to its non-residential customers Illinois. Amounts vary; rebate eligibility depends on the technology and its efficiency. Programs that could qualify include heating and cooling equipment; lighting; motors and variable speed drives; and insulation.
Southern California Edison (SCE) offers incentives for non-residential customers, regardless of size and energy usage. Prescriptive rebates are available for lighting, refrigeration, premium efficiency motors and air conditioning technologies. SCE demand curtailment programs are also available, with rebates or rate discounts available to customers who agree to have their energy usage curtailed during peak periods and seasons.
Seems like every week, one hears something about rebates and financial incentives for industries including manufacturing. But what we hear is that funds are available or that manufacturers should check into them. So, if all that money is available, where is it coming from? More importantly, how do you get your hands on it?
Rebate roadmap
The Illinois and California offerings are just two of the many programs listed on the DSIRE Website. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, according to information published on its Website (www.dsireusa.org).
Established in 1995, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), primarily through the Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis (PBA). The site is administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
The site's home page displays a U.S. map with embedded links for each state. By clicking on an individual state, users are directed to that state's landing page, each of which contains links for rebates, incentives, loans, grants and policies provided by utilities and/or state or federal governments.
It also provides information about Federal incentives and policies for renewable energy and efficiency. A brief list of the many offerings include Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction; Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC); U.S. Department of Treasury - Renewable Energy Grants; Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs); Qualifying Advanced Energy Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit; and Interconnection Standards for Small Generators.
Making your plant more energy efficient will result in reduced energy bills. But tapping into a rebate or incentive program could go a long way toward offsetting the costs of energy efficiency improvements.A four-step process to energy control
08/31/2009Oregon solar manufacturing plants power up
02/09/2010
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
