LIPA Offers Free Solar Energy Seminar

Harness Sun Power

Uniondale, NY—As concerns about global warming increase and the cost of fossil fuels rise, homeowners are looking for ways to make a difference. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is providing an opportunity for residential customers to invest in the future and supplement their energy needs with solar power (PV).

LIPA offers significant rebates for PV systems up to 10 kilowatts (kW) in size. A 10kW can produce about 12,730 kWh per year, which would be an annual value of $2,609 at the current electric rates. The rebate available now for residential and commercial customers is $3.75 per watt. Investing in solar power enables homeowners to not only generate clean electricity, but also reduce the amount of electricity purchased from LIPA. And, any excess electricity produced can be sold back to LIPA through net metering.

In addition to the LIPA rebates, New York State offers up to a 25% tax credit with a $5,000 cap. The Federal government offers up to 30% tax credit with a $2,000 cap. Nassau and Suffolk Counties charge no sales tax on the installation of PV systems, and homeowners can take advantage of New York State’s 15-year property tax exemption for solar energy systems. After all the incentives are applied it is possible to enjoy a 50% reduction on the total cost of a PV system.

As part of it’s continuing effort to educate its customers on how to reduce their dependence of fossil fuels, LIPA is offering free solar energy seminars. The first solar energy seminar for 2007 is being held at The Pavilion at Hempstead Town Hall at 7:00PM. The seminar will include topics such as: how to lower your electric bill; types of PV systems; details on the LIPA rebates and solar incentives; net metering; and how to choose a contractor.

“LIPA’s solar pioneer program for renewable energy offers significant incentives which, when combined with New York State’s Solar Tax Credit, the forgiveness of local sales taxes by both Counties, and the Net Metering Law, makes the installation of photovoltaic systems on Long Island a viable alternative,” said LIPA’s CEO & President Richard M. Kessel.

To date, under its Solar Pioneer Program, LIPA has rebated over $23.5 million for the installation of approximately 888 PV systems Island-wide. That number breaks down to 816 residential and 44 commercial systems and 28 systems installed at educational, not-for-profit and Government facilities. Additionally, there are 245 rebate applications pending for PV systems that are about to be installed.

For more information about the LIPA Solar Pioneer program and upcoming free solar seminars visit the LIPA Web site at http://www.lipower.org.

LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2010, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State for frequency of service interruptions, and ranked second for duration of service interruptions. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org.

Media Contact Information
Mark Gross
Phone - (516) 719-9892
Media Pager - (516) 229-7248
media.relations@lipower.org

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