SGIP Explained: Understanding the Self-Generation Incentive Program

You may have heard the SGIP mentioned in connection with other solar incentive programs, but unless you’re an industry insider, you may not be familiar with each and every financial incentive program and clean energy initiative that the state and federal government offers to homeowners.

However, even those who have heard of the SGIP may not be fully aware of just how broad their coverage is, and based on a number of factors, your home may be eligible for utility backed benefits! Let’s explore the SGIP program, and uncover why this particular solar incentive is so potent.

What is the SGIP?

The Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP, is a program COMMERCIAL SOLAR backed by the CPUC for the purpose of providing rebates to customers for installing qualifying distributed energy systems. This means that homes with solar installations and battery storage systems, designed to operate in a power outage, are eligible for an initial rebate, with additional incentives for those who are impacted by other critical factors.

Why should I care about SGIP?

The SGIP is an incredibly impactful program, but for some time the program has been difficult to apply for, requiring utility customers to do extensive research and attempt to navigate a complicated application process.'However, the program has shifted in recent years, and now installers are the ones who handle SGIP applications for their customers. This has made the process much more accessible, and in turn much more desirable.That additional funding is in a prime position to serve customers who apply, and will go towards paying out on the three levels of SGIP rebates, depending on what the customer qualifies for.

General Market Rebate

The General Market Rebate is available to residential customers of California utilities, including PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, and SDG&E. It offers a rebate of roughly $250/kWh, covering approximately 25% of the cost of an average energy storage system, like a solar battery. While the newer, higher rebates are available to those with increased need, this General Market Rebate is available to any residential utility customer.

Equity Rebate

The Equity Rate is one of the two new rebate tiers adding additional support to SGIP funding. Eligible homeowners are qualified to receive $850/kWh, increasing the coverage of the rebate to approximately 85% of the cost of an average energy storage system. This rebate has a higher barrier to entry, but provides substantial coverage.

Equity Resiliency Rebate

The Equity Resilience Rebate is the second of the two new rebate tiers which add additional support to the general SGIP funding. Homeowners who qualify will receive a rebate of $1000/kWh, which is estimated to cover close to 100% of the cost of an average energy storage system. This is for customers who have specific needs, but there are many who don’t realize that they already qualify for this coverage.

Who qualifies for SGIP?

This is the most critical part of this guide, as qualifying for even one of the two higher tiers of the SGIP represents a significant savings for any California resident. Luckily as we stated above, the General Market Rebate is available through a solar provider for any utility customer, so at base you should be getting a strong rebate on your solar + storage investment.

Qualifying for the Equity Rebate

Beyond the baseline qualification, there are some things to consider. To access the Equity Rebate, you need to meet one of the following criteria: