Incentives for Battery Storage
Federal Incentives
If you already have solar energy or when you get a solar system at the same time as your battery, the purchase and installation of solar-connected battery backup is eligible for the Federal Income Tax Credit (22% when installed by 12-31-2021, lower percentage if installed in 2022). This incentive applies to residential and small commercial projects.
State Incentives
Purchase and installation on the solar system is state sales tax exempt when the system size is less than 100 KW, but you will have to pay sales tax on the battery backup system.
In the past, and possibly again in the future, the WA Dept of Commerce offers Clean Energy Fund grants for designing and learning from energy storage.
Utility Incentives
Clean electricity from your battery is intended for self-consumption. You are not allowed to send battery power to the grid for net metering credits as you do with solar electricity. You may disconnect your site from the grid and utilize battery power as an alternative to paying for electricity. This is particularly useful in areas of the country where the utilities charge a time of use rate, but that is not true today in Washington.
Your utility may offer some type of incentive if you allow them to draw on your whole house battery or on your electric vehicle battery. Check with your utility to see what they offer.
Snohomish PUD has engaged in research into the utilization of battery storage at the grid level and has a new battery storage system at the new Arlington microgrid.
Learn about PSE’s battery storage projects and what they are testing, and learn about how they view batteries for homes, commercial sites and industry.
Learn more about upcoming research and news from agencies working on Energy Storage
- SEIA Factsheet on ITC for Energy Storage
- Northwest Energy Coalition
- Energy Storage Association
- Shift Zero – Zero Carbon Building Alliance
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers energy storage as a new source of energy
- US Dept of Energy
- Smart Electric Power Alliance which is studying vehicle-grid integration along with multiple sources of Distributed Energy Resources (DERS)
Contact
NW Electric and Solar
18001 73rd Ave NE Kenmore WA 98028
M-F 8 am - 4 pm