Rebates & Forms

Below are guidelines for LIPA's wind energy rebates & incentives.

LIPA Wind Rebate for Homeowners

  • $3.50 per kilowatt hour (kWh) up to 16,000 kWh produced annually. *
  • Must be a residential electric customer located in LIPA service territory.
  • Only new, grid connected, Wind Systems (on LIPA's approved equipment list) and current Public Service Commission type tested inverters are eligible for LIPA rebates.
  • New equipment must be installed according to manufacturer's specifications. Existing towers must have updated building permits or engineering drawings stamped by a New York State licensed Professional Engineer.
  • A system performance meter is required to measure the amount of energy production.
  • Rebates are on a first-come, first-serve basis pending application pre-approval by LIPA. **

* Or 60% of total installed costs, whichever is less. The installed cost is the cost of the wind system to the customer minus any government grants or subsidies.
** Maximum rebate allowed per application: $56,000

Rebate Forms

Receiving your LIPA Rebate:

Because LIPA’s rebate is based on expected performance of the operating wind turbine at a specific location, all customers will be required to provide monthly energy output readings of their wind turbine’s actual output for the first year of operation. LIPA’s rebate program will be paid as follows:

  • Phase I: Pre-approved Applicants will receive 65% of the pre-approved calculated Rebate amount (“Calculated Performance Portion”) upon LIPA’s completion of a functional test of Applicant's Wind System and installation of the net meter.
  • Phase II: Following LIPA’s receipt of 12 consecutive months of actual metered generation data, based upon the Wind System’s actual performance and further provided that the Wind System is operational, LIPA will pay Applicant up to a maximum amount of the remaining 35% of the pre-approved Rebate amount (“Performance Based Portion”). LIPA reserves the right to pro-rate or reduce the remaining portion of the pre-approved Rebate amount based on the actual performance of the Wind System as determined by LIPA.

The following requirements apply to the determination of the actual performance and payment of the Performance Based Portion:

  • (1) the monthly usage data must be read from either the Wind System’s inverter or a usage meter provided that the accuracy of the measuring device must be within plus or minus 5% and LIPA may require a certificate of compliance from the device manufacturer, and
  • (2) in determining a Wind System’s actual performance, LIPA will apply a normalization factor to the usage data to account for wind speed variance from historical averages. The normalization factor will utilize the cube of the wind speed.
  • (3) in order for a customer to qualify for the full remaining 35% Phase II rebate, the normalized annual energy produced must be 90% or greater than the original pre-approved estimated annual output for the turbine.
  • (4) if the normalized annual energy produced is less than 90% of the original pre-approved estimated annual output, the customer may be eligible for a pro-rated rebate based upon the normalization factor.
  • (5) if the normalized annual energy produced is less than 90% of the original pre-approved estimated annual output and results in a rebate less than the amount paid for in the Phase I rebate process, the customer will NOT be eligible for a Phase II rebate.

Under no circumstances shall the total Rebate paid to Applicant exceed either the amount stated in the pre-approval letter or the Maximum Rebate amount of $56,000 whichever is lower.

Federal Tax Incentive

  • 30% Residential Wind Investment Tax Credit through December 31, 2016.
  • Wind systems up to 100 kW are eligible to receive a 30% credit on net installed costs, no cap.
  • Download Federal Tax Credit form (PDF)

New York State Real Property Tax Law

  • 15 year real property tax exemption for installed residential small wind systems.
  • NOTE: Each County, City, Town, Village & School District on Long Island may choose to disallow the exemption as noted in the NYS Office of Real Property Services section 4.01 RPTL Section 487.
  • Real Property Tax Exemption for Residential Wind Generating Equip

Interconnection

Informational Downloads

Backyard Wind Initiative

Questions?
Call the Energy Efficiency Infoline at 1-800-692-2626.