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Kansas Rebates and Incentives Summary

Kansas

When it comes too solar, Kansas has gleaming potential. With more than 225 sunny days a year, the state ranks fifth in the nation for potential. But potential only gets you so far. If Kansas is going to go the distance, it will need to make some significant policy changes that encourage more solar development. Unfortunately, Kansas is moonwalking away from a sunny solar future.

While the state had a healthy net metering policy, new legislation weakened it in 2014. People with systems installed prior to July 1, 2014 can’t be charged anymore for their grid connection than their neighbor who doesn’t have solar. Homeowners with newer systems, however, can be charged an extra connection fee. On top of that, homeowners with solar systems installed before July 1, 2014 will be credited at the retail rate for excess power they feed back onto the grid. For systems installed more recently, homeowners are only credited at the utility’s avoided cost rate.

Meanwhile, many of the incentives that once existed to encourage solar installations in the state have evaporated. Kansas is steadily regressing in terms of solar policy.

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Kansas Net Metering

Program Type Net Metering
Technologies Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal Electric, Wind Energy
Amount Credited to customer's next bill at the retail rate if system began operating before July 1, 2014 and at the average cost rate if system began operating on or after July 1, 2014; NEG expires on March 31 each year.
Required Documentation Interconnection agreement
Official Web Site http://www.kansasenergy.org/renewable_issues.htm

 

Net metering in Kansas started out strong. But new legislation passed in 2014 that rolls the program back. The size of the system Kansas residents can connect to the grid dropped dramatically. Where residential systems could be as large as 25 Kilowatts and commercial systems could be 200 kilowatts before April, 2014, system sizes are now limited to 15 kilowatts for homes, 100 kilowatts for businesses and 150 kilowatts for schools and government buildings.

On top of the limitation in system size, utilities may now charge solar customers a higher interconnection rate and only have to credit solar customers for their excess power at the avoided cost rate rather than the retail rate that was required before the legislation passed.

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Building Energy Code

Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the DOE and BCAP websites.

Kansas adopted the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) as "the applicable state standard" for commercial and industrial buildings. Enforcement is provided by local jurisdictions; the state corporation commission has no authority to adopt or enforce energy efficiency standards for residential, commercial, or industrial structures. Many of Kansas’s larger jurisdictions have adopted either the

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City of Greensburg - Green Building Requirement for New Municipal Buildings

In the aftermath of a May 2007 tornado that destroyed 95% of the city, the Greensburg City Council passed an ordinance requiring that all newly constructed or renovated municipally-owned facilities larger than 4,000 square feet be designed to conform to the platinum rating of the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System. The ordinance further requires that such buildings be designed to achieve all 10 points possible under EA Credit 1 "Optimize Energy Performance." Achieving this requires a whole building energy consumption reduction of 42% compared to the standard building baseline (ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004). 

As of 2014

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City of Wichita - Solar Contractor Licensing

Any person in the business of installing, repairing, replacing, altering, or maintenance of a solar energy system must, before obtaining any permit or transacting any business, obtain a license from the superintendent of central inspection.

The energy advisory board designates the times and place for examination of all applicants desiring to engage in or work at the business of installing, repairing, replacing, altering, or maintenance of a solar energy system in the city.

All applicants for a journeyman installer certificate must have had a minimum of 1 year practical experience at the trade to prove his ability, or such other qualifications

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Interconnection Guidelines

Kansas adopted the Net Metering and Easy Connection Act in May 2009 (see K.S.A. 66-1263 through 66-1271), establishing interconnection guidelines and net metering for customer-owned generators.

Generators must meet all applicable safety, performance, interconnection and reliability standards established by the National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Underwriters Laboratories, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and any local governing authorities. The Kansas Corporation Commission adopted rules (K.A.R. 82-17-1 through 82-17-5) to implement the statute’s interconnection and reliability standards in July 2010. These rules are limited, and they include additional protection for the

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Kansas Solar Easement Laws

Parties may voluntarily enter into solar easement contracts for the purpose of ensuring adequate exposure of a solar energy system. An easement must be expressed in writing and recorded with the register of deeds for that county.

The written agreement must contain a description of the airspace in question and any term and/or conditions under which the solar easement is granted or terminated.

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Midwest Energy (Gas and Electric) - How$mart Energy Efficiency Finance Program

Midwest Energy offers its residential and small commercial electricity and natural gas customers in good standing a way to finance energy efficiency improvements on eligible properties. Under the How$mart on-bill financing program, the utility will pay the initial cost of making energy efficiency improvements, then recoup the cost of these improvements through a surcharge on the customer's bill. The surcharge is estimated to be less than the energy savings associated with the improvements. It allows customers to make efficiency improvements with no up-front costs.

In order to participate in the program, customers must first have an energy audit performed by

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Net Metering

Kansas adopted the Net Metering and Easy Connection Act in May 2009, which established net metering for customers of investor-owned utilities (IOUs). 

Eligible Technologies

The following renewable energy resources are eligible for net metering: solar, solar thermal, wind, methane, biomass, hydro, fuel cells that use hydrogen produced by one of these resources, and energy storage that is connected to any renewable generation. 

Eligibility and Availability

Both IOUs in Kansas—Evergy (formerly Westar and Kansas City Power & Light) and the Empire Power District—are required to offer net metering, and some electric cooperatives have voluntarily created net metering provisions for their customers

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Renewable Energy Goal

Note: In May 2015, S.B. 91 was enacted, changing the renewable energy standard to a voluntary goal.

In May 2009, the Kansas Legislature enacted the Renewable Energy Standards Act (H.B. 2369) creating a state renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The Kansas RPS required the state's investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives to generate or purchase 20% of the affected utility's peak demand from eligible renewable resources for each calendar year beginning in 2020. (According to the American Wind Energy Association, Kansas generated 21.7% of its electricity from wind energy in 2014.)

In May 2015, S.B. 91 was enacted, changing the RPS from a

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Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption

Note: On September 17, 2024, the Director of the Division of Property Valuation issued a guidance memo on the applicability of this exemption to battery energy storage systems (BESS), finding that the exemption does not apply to BESS attached to a renewable energy system, although standalone BESS may qualify for a commercial and industrial machinery exemption.

Kansas statute exempts renewable energy equipment from property taxes if an application for an exemption is filed for the property on or before December 31, 2016. For applications for exemptions filed after December 31, 2016, a property tax exemption is limited to the 10

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Wichita City - Solar Permitting

Solar Installation plans, specifications and other data shall be submitted for permit to the Building Official. The fees for solar installation are as follows, $40 for two or less site inspection for final approval and $15 for each additional site inspection. The Energy Advisory Board acts as a board of appeals for the solar installation process. Specific certificates and licenses are required to install, repair, replace and alter solar energy systems and it is unlawful to do so without a certificate or license.

2023 Update

Wichita-Sedgwick County government is currently reviewing the permitting process for Solar Energy Systems. The current

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