Sweden Allocates $60 Million in Solar Rebates for 2018
The Swedish Energy Agency has announced it will provide SEK500 million (~$60.7 million) in rebates for the support of small-sized solar PV projects in 2018. The agency said in its statement that it will initially allocate SEK200 million (~$24.3 million), while two more tranches of SEK200 million (~$24.3 million) and SEK100 million (~$12.15 million), respectively, will be assigned starting from April, and in the fall.
The structuring of the allocation process across three tranches, the agency's managing director, Andreas Gustafsson said, was conceived to help local authorities improve application procedures, and to reduce the time applicants must wait to secure funds. Overall, the agency has allocated SEK1.4 billion (~$170 million) in the period between 2009 and 2017 through the program.
When the announcement was made, Isabella Lövin, Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister said the additional funds were aimed at lowering the growing bottleneck of potential PV system owners waiting to gain access to the rebate program. In comparison, the government allocated SEK225 million (~$27.34 million) in 2016, and just SEK150 million (~$18.22 million) in 2015. Under the program, homeowners and private or public companies are entitled to receive a rebate, which covers 30% of the costs of buying and installing a PV system. The maximum available amount for a single project is SEK1.2 million (~$14,582). In order to enable more growth in the residential and commercial segments, the government recently unveiled a proposal to eliminate the obligation to require a building permit for the installation of rooftop PV systems.
