4 min. read
Our Expert Insights series brings you real-world perspectives from our Commercial Markets experts on navigating energy upgrade and transition decisions.
In this segment, Sheilla Hadayat, Grants and Incentives Manager, Commercial Markets, overviews how your organization can maximize incentive, grant, and rebate program funding for energy efficiency, renewable, and electrification projects.
Watch the full video or read the transcript below.
Q: What is an incentive?
SH: An incentive is a financial value provided to commercial properties or any type of project really.
Incentives kind of can be looked at as an umbrella. So there [are] rebates often provided by the utility companies. Those are usually paid after installation and after verification that the project is complete. There are highly competitive grants, and they can be paid either through milestones or at the end of a project as well. There are also tax incentives that can be completed during your business taxes at the end of the year. That is not a cash on hand, but it is a nice value to add to projects.
Q: How do you qualify to incentives?
SH: There are many eligibility requirements for incentives. There might be one program that’s available for multifamily homes, and there might be another program that’s only available to workplaces, hospitals, [or] hotels. So, it’s important for you to find the right partner to help guide you in understanding what programs are available for your organization.
Q: What types of programs do incentives exist for?
SH: In the realm of energy efficiency, we’re looking at lighting programs, we’re looking at HVAC programs, [or] water efficiency programs.
There’s also EVSC, which is the electric vehicle station equipment. So, there’s programs for the make ready side, which is prepping your site for the charging stations, and there’s also funds available for the actual station itself.
Q: Can you stack incentives?
SH: Incentive stacking is when you can utilize funds from one program and another program to help further offset the cost of your project. But it’s very important that you understand if the program you are applying to allow stack funding. So, it’s not a one-for-all situation.
For example, some federal programs allow you to stack with state-level programs, but not all state-level programs allow you to stack with other types of funding. When you have a partner on your side like SitelogIQ, we make sure that we do our due diligence and confirm what programs are available and what we can stack with.
Q: What types of incentives are the most underutilized?
SH: The programs I believe that are the most underutilized are local programs, so programs that are put on by the cities [or] municipalities. And this happens because they’re not heavily marketed.
For example, in Southern California, there is a city that offers substantial funding for EVSC charging stations plus their installation. The program has been open for over a year. The funds are still available, but they’re not marketed, so the general public doesn’t know that they exist.
We can look through your zip code and see what’s available for that site that you’re looking into upgrading and we can determine what rebates or incentives are available to you.
Q: What’s the cost of waiting on incentive applications?
SH: You cannot afford to wait on incentive funding. When a program closes, there is no guarantee that the funds are going to reopen again for another round or if they do open for a second or third round, the incentive amounts typically dwindle down, so it’s not at the same rate as it was previously. Which is why we always encourage people to apply as soon as they can. That way they can reserve the funds that are available at that time.
Q: What’s the value of working with SitelogIQ for incentive management?
SH: We have rebate specialists that will actually work on every single step of the rebate application process and keep you in the loop. We take the burden off of you and we want to help you and see you succeed.
SitelogIQ is your one-stop partner for energy efficiency, renewable, and electrification solutions. We handle all project steps, from design and installation, through incentive management. Let’s see where you could subsidize costs for your energy upgrade projects.