Environmental Stewardship

SNAP producers are paid once a year for the power they generate from a pool of funds created by customer contributions. The amount paid by Chelan County PUD to individual SNAP producers depends on the total contributed by SNAP purchasers and the total generated by all SNAP producers. The greater the amount contributed by SNAP supporters, the greater the amount that will be distributed among SNAP producers.

For example, if a SNAP producer generates 1 percent of the total SNAP power produced, and SNAP purchasers contributed $40,000 to the SNAP fund, then the SNAP producer would receive an annual SNAP payment of $400 ($40,000 times 1 percent). (These payments are only estimates. Chelan County PUD cannot guarantee the amount of revenue producers will receive from installing a SNAP generator.)

In addition, SNAP producers receive 75 percent of the Dow Jones Mid-Columbia off-peak wholesale power rate for the power they produce.

The federal government passed a 30% federal tax credit in 2005 for solar installations. Businesses can take the full 30% tax credit, while individuals are limited to 30% or $2,000, whichever is smaller. Additional information on the federal tax credit can be downloaded from the Solar Energy Industry Association's Web site.

To encourage the startup of even more solar and small wind producers, Chelan County PUD is participating in the state's production incentive program. Individual producers are eligible to receive up to $2,000 per year in additional production funds. The additional amount depends on whether their power is generated using equipment manufactured in Washington state. The goal of this state incentive is to encourage new renewable power generation and to attract new manufacturing jobs to our state.

In addition to the SNAP program, solar and wind power producers in Chelan County should qualify for the state's renewable energy production incentive program. The state's incentive program allows the PUD to pay each solar and wind power producer in the county up to $2,000 per year. The amount of the production incentive depends on the amount of solar and wind energy produced, and whether the equipment that produced the energy was manufactured within Washington state. Solar producers using solar modules and inverters manufactured in Washington state can receive up to $0.54 per kWh. If just the inverter is made in Washington, the solar producer would receive $0.18/kWh. Energy generated with modules and inverters manufactured outside Washington would receive $0.15 per kWh.

Currently there are inverter manufacturers but no module manufacturers in the state. Producers are limited to waiting for a module manufacturer to come to Washington, or they can install the system to receive the $0.18/kWh. Specific details on the state production incentive can be found in the Renewable Energy System Cost Recovery Question and Answer brochure and the Washington Administrative Code prepared by the state Department of Revenue.

Total labor and material costs for a typical solar power system are $7 to $10 per watt. A 1,000-watt system, covering approximately 100 square feet, would therefore cost from $7,000 to $10,000. The basic system cost after the federal tax credit is applied is $5,000 to $7,000.

The annual production incentive can be estimated by multiplying the system rating times the number of full sun hours of the area where the solar system will be installed. Eastern Washington receives about 1,200 full sun hours per year. Annual income for a 1,000 watt (1 kilowatt) system using Washington-made solar modules would therefore range from:

Estimated Annual Income with Washington-made inverter, but not Washington solar modules:
1 kW x 1200 hours/Year x State Incentive, $0.18/kWh = $216/Year

Approx. Simple Payback = ($7,000 - $2,000 tax credit) / $216/Year = 23 years

Estimated Annual Income with Washington-made solar modules & inverter:
1 kW x 1200 hours/Year x State Incentive, $0.54/kWh = $648/Year

Approx. Simple Payback = ($7,000 - $2,000 tax credit) / $648/Year = 8 years

Note that Washington's production incentive goes until 2014 and does not include additional payments from Chelan County PUD's SNAP program, which runs until 2012. SNAP payments have been as follows:
2002 - $1.50/kWh
2003 - $1.20/kWh
2004 - $0.74/kWh
2005 - $0.46/kWh
2006 - $0.25/kWh
2007 - $0.21/kWh

Producers purchase equipment directly from retailers. Local retailers include:

Brooks Solar
Randy and Anne Brooks
Chelan, WA
(509) 682-9646
info@brookssolar.com
Brooks Solar web site

Enviro-Safe
Phil Glass
Wenatchee, WA
(509) 663-3296
envirosaf@aol.com

AFT Solar
Arnold Techamivol
Wenatchee, WA
(509) 607-2343
arnoldt_is_away@hotmail.com

The maximum SNAP project that may be interconnected with the distribution system is 25 kilowatts. Click here for a copy of the interconnection requirements for SNAP.

Customers are responsible for the cost of connecting their SNAP generator to Chelan County PUD’s distribution system. The connection fee is $100 and includes the cost of installing a meter. There is also a one-time account service charge of $10 and a monthly meter fee of $3.65. (The meter fee will be deducted from the annual payment mailed to SNAP producers.)

Line extension fees, if any, will vary depending on the distance to the nearest PUD facilities.

SNAP producers must obtain an electrical permit from the City of Wenatchee (if within city limits) or the state Department of Labor and Industries. The city or county building and planning departments may also require a building permit. Call the appropriate jurisdiction to discuss your project.

A step-by-step checklist and the paperwork you'll need can be viewed and/or printed from the Producers Checklist page (located under "Quck Links" on this page).

Call Jim White, senior energy services engineer, at (509) 661-4829 or send an e-mail.