D.C. Renewable Energy Incentive Program Announced

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., March 2, 2009

Washington D.C.’s Department of the Environment (DDOE) has announced an expansive, multi-year renewable energy incentive program for business owners and residents to install renewable energy technologies. The Renewable Energy Incentive Program (REIP) will provide rebates of up to $33,000 for each eligible site, per program year, to assist in the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) or wind turbine renewable energy systems. Eligible properties include single-family and multi-family dwellings, commercial, and institutional buildings, and owners may apply for the rebate effective February 23, 2009. Additional rebates for solar thermal, geothermal, biomass and methane recovery technologies are expected in the second quarter of 2009.

The District of Columbia's Renewable Energy Incentive Program parallels increased federal support for renewable energy technologies in the recent federal stimulus bill (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009). For example, the stimulus bill allocates over $16 billion to the U.S. Department of Energy for programs supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy. The stimulus bill also extends the production tax credit (PTC) for electricity generated from renewable resources, expands the energy investment tax credit (ITC), and establishes a renewable energy grant program that may be used in lieu of certain tax credits where the investor has no tax liability.

For more information on federal and state renewable energy incentives, please contact Max Williamson at dwilliamson@bdlaw.com, Peter Schaumberg at pschaumberg@bdlaw.com or Anne Finken at afinken@bdlaw.com.