DSIRE – Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) is a free, comprehensive, user-friendly source of information on state, local, utility and selected federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. With a single click of the mouse, DSIRE provides users with a list of renewable-energy incentives and energy-efficiency incentives available in any U.S. state. The incentives are divided into two categories:

• Financial Incentives - including tax credits, deductions and exemptions; grants, rebates, loans, etc.
  
  
• Rules, Regulations & Policies - including net metering and interconnection standards, public benefits funds, renewables portfolio standards, fuel mix generation disclosure, solar access laws, solar contractor licensing, green power purchases, building energy codes, appliance and equipment efficiency standards, etc.

DSIRE also offers color-coded summary maps that provide a geographical view of the availability of a specific incentive across the United States. In addition, the site includes an FAQ section, a glossary, a search function and a list of relevant links. On average, more than 60,000 people use DSIRE every month.

Established in 1995, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by the North Carolina Solar Center.

National Interconnection Project

The National Interconnection Project provides services and resources to facilitate the development of net metering and interconnection standards for renewable-energy systems and other forms of distributed generation (DG). With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, this project offers targeted technical assistance for states and DG stakeholders, and relevant interconnection news and publications for a more general audience. The project web site serves as an information clearinghouse on interconnection issues.

The National Interconnection Project has assisted a number of states by providing interconnection workshops that typically target state regulators and policymakers, utility engineers, system installers, businesses, and renewable-energy organizations. Project staff have organized full-day workshops in Colorado, Kansas, Maine, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Wyoming. The project staff work closely with state energy offices, utility commissions and other stakeholders in developing workshops that meet a particular state's needs.

In 1998, as the pace of state-level interconnection activity accelerated, the project began publishing Connecting to the Grid, a free, monthly electronic newsletter that covers state, federal and international interconnection and net-metering developments; developments in national codes and standards; industry news; publications; events; and other news. (Click here to subscribe to this free monthly newsletter.) Additional free publications are available on the project web site, including model interconnection rules with net-metering provisions, an interconnection guidebook for consumers, state-by-state interconnection and net-metering tables, and an archive of past Connecting to the Grid newsletters. The site also includes a library of legal documents relevant to interconnection and net metering.

Established in 1997, the National Interconnection Project is an ongoing project of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by the North Carolina Solar Center.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) contracted with the Solar Center to evaluate the effectiveness of state financial incentives in stimulating the deployment of renewable energy technologies. Understanding the impact of current financial incentives on the deployment of renewable energy technologies and the factors that influence their effectiveness is critical to a variety of stakeholders, particularly for states considering new incentives, or states improving or scrapping existing ones. The Solar Center examined 10 state financial incentive programs in six states using a case study approach in order to clarify the key factors—both internal and external to the program—that influence program success at stimulating the adoption of renewable energy technologies. The findings were detailed in a report published by NREL in September 2002, titled Case Studies on the Effectiveness of State Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy.

To access the entire report (2.7 MB), click here.

To access the executive summary, click here.