Hey, are you gonna use that?

Let’s say your application for a solar rebate through NV Energy’s Solar Generations program is approved. Then, for one reason or another, you can’t use it. What happens to that unused rebate after it expires? Used to be, it went to waste. But now, per unanimous vote of the Nevada Public Utility Commission, it becomes available for other homeowners, businesses and public buildings. The commission voted in mid-April to add 6.5 megawatts of expired and unused rebates, worth $26 million, so that others can use them.

The rebates currently offer $2.10 per watt for homes and businesses and $4.20 a watt for schools and public buildings. Nevertheless, the costs of installing a solar system were still cost-prohibitive for some who’d received the rebates, according to a story in the Nevada Appeal.

The nonprofit Black Rock Solar was instrumental in bringing about the decision. On its website, the group noted it may be their “biggest impact ever.” It stated, “When combined with the stimulus money now available, the result will be a huge boost to the solar and construction industry in Nevada, and is just the latest of our ongoing efforts to bring and keep green jobs in Nevada.”