Americans can earn $3,000 in free cash by adding outdoor accessories — but it depends on your electric company

AMERICANS can qualify for $3,000 in rebates from a program designed to make green energy more affordable.

Texans with an energy provider can get paid for installing solar panels on their homes or businesses.

American Electric Power, or AEP Texas, offers discounts to customers for the systems.

The exact amount of the discount depends on the size of the installation, but can be in the thousands.

Unlike energy from fossil fuels, solar energy can be produced at home and does not produce the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

Producing your own energy at home reduces the amount you need to purchase from the energy company.

Thanks to Texas’ aging and fragile energy grid, AEP has an incentive to move customers toward solar energy.

Domestic energy production can reduce pressure on the state’s system during emergencies, allowing energy to flow where it is needed most.

HOW TO QUALIFY

AEP customers looking to install solar can get a discount if they use a qualified contractor to install the system.

Clients should work with these contractors to apply for incentive funds together.

AEP Texas has a list of installers enrolled in the online program.

AEP does not serve the entire state, but its service area includes large cities such as San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

SYSTEM SIZE

The energy your system produces determines how much incentive you can get.

For residential installations in 2024, there are four energy production bands.

• A system that produces 0.001-2.999 kWdc will pay $0.50/Wdc.
• A 3-4,999 kWdc system pays $1,500.
• A 5-7,499 kWdc system pays $2,250.
• A 7.5-30 kWdc system pays $3,000.

Smaller incentives are available for commercial projects.

Forbes has compiled a list of other Texas Solar Incentives.

Is solar energy taking off?

Once an environmentalist’s dream, solar energy is now a rapidly growing energy source in the US.

Residential solar energy – installing solar panels on your property – has become increasingly popular and affordable.

The cost of panels is about half what it was a decade ago, according to CNet.

It can also reduce monthly energy bills for some, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change.

More than half of America’s new power generation capacity in 2023 will come from solar energy, according to SEIA, a industrial group.

Government incentives like the Inflation Reduction Act and other tax benefits are expected to further increase accessibility to solar energy.

Despite growth, solar energy still produces only a small percentage of grid energy.

MORE MONEY

Many governments have set aside tax incentives to get people into solar energy.

A nationwide investment tax credit could pay $6,000 to individuals who want to install solar energy.

Other states have specific incentives.

In Connecticut, a program could save people more than $1,000 on solar installations by waiving sales tax.

One city is giving people $20,000 for their first home.

Americans could get money from $181 million chicken price settlement.