Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Get 40% off solar, but only if you can type fast!

I had my sheet of paper all filled out and ready to go. I was logged into the site.

Check the clock...7:28am. Click refresh. Nothing

7:29, click refresh. Nothing.

7:30, click refresh. Short delay, this must be it! C'mon internet connection, hurry up!

I'm in, now start typing...

Welcome to the world of applying for a solar panel rebate from Florida Power & Light. The website opens at 7:30am, and it's first come first serve. You have to have your personal and contractor information, the size of your solar panel system, number of inverters, expected cost, and expected KWH production from your system.

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I was smart. I pre-typed the information into a document, so all I had to do was copy-paste into the form, and I would surely get in right away.

The prize? $2 per watt rebate from FP&L after a completed solar panel installation. That's a great deal! At less than $5 per watt for most systems, that's at least 40% off the full price. The catch is that you have to compete with everyone else online at the same time to get the rebate, and there are no guarantees.

If it wasn't for the huge discount, I probably wouldn't have even tried. Why not a lottery system, so we don't have to all hover over our computers typing away as fast as we can? Maybe a system that picks a few from each county, to spread it out evenly across contractors and demand needs? I wonder what other states do in this situation. But I digress...

Done! I felt good, no way I didn't get in. I submitted the form at 7:33am...



Not Accepting Applications

Sorry! Due to strong customer interest, all of the rebate funds for this program have been reserved at this time. Please watch www.FPL.com/solarrebates for information about possible future rounds of rebate opportunities.

Please note that any system components installed prior to FPL's issuance of a rebate reservation will not qualify for a rebate.



No!!  3 minutes! That's all it took to run out of money? How much was in there to begin with? How many people submitted? Now I'm thinking back on what I did wrong. Was it the short delay setting up a dual page view between the website and my document? Maybe that ended up costing me too much time. Ughh!

Now what? Good thing I had a backup plan. I won't be installing the 8.8 kW (37 module) system I planned, but a smaller 6.6 kW instead. I still get a 30% rebate from the federal government, but it's still frustrating to not get the larger rebate.

I keep telling myself that someone who did get the rebate was only going to install solar if they got the rebate, so in the big scheme of things, maybe this worked out better for the planet. I am still going forward with my installation, and someone else can proceed with their project as well.  Two projects are moving forward, instead of only one. At least that makes me feel better...