Maine law requires that any municipal ordinance, bylaw, or regulation adopted after September 30, 2009 regulating solar energy devices on residential property follow certain requirements. The rules, bylaws, and regulations of homeowner associations (HOAs) must also follow these requirements. Specifically, these legal instruments may not prohibit a person from installing or using a solar energy device (including a clothesline or drying rack) on residential property owned by that person. In the case of a leased/rented property, the policy protects the renter's right to use a clothesline or drying rack.

The municipal reviewing authority may, to protect and ensure access to

South Dakota’s interconnection standards for distributed generation, adopted by the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in May 2009, apply to customers of investor-owned utilities.* The rules provide for four levels of interconnection for systems up to 10 megawatts (MW) in capacity:

• Tier 1 applies to inverter-based systems up to 10 kilowatts (kW) in capacity that use lab-tested equipment.
  
• Tier 2 applies to systems up to 2 MW in capacity that use lab-tested equipment.
• Tier 3 applies to systems up to 2 MW in capacity that do not export electricity.
• Tier 4 applies to systems up to 10 MW in capacity

Marietta Power & Water provides rebates for electric water heaters ($250) and electric and dual-fuel heat pumps ($150). If both a water heater and heat pump are installed simultaneously, a rebate of $500 is available. Electric and dual-fuel heat pumps may be installed in newly constructed homes or replace an existing residential gas system. The developer, owner or builder must request to participate in this program before replacing or installing any new electric appliances and must enter into the program by signing MP&W's contract. The developer, owner or builder must schedule with a utility representative an inspection date for the

Stearns Electric Association, through a program offered by Rural Utilities Services, offers its members low-interest Energy Resource Conservation (ERC) loans. The complete cost of making approved energy conservation improvements may be eligible for financing with an ERC loan at 5% interest. Up to $5,000 for qualifying improvements to homes, businesses, or agricultural buildings at least one year old. The maximum repayment schedule is set at 60 months. Financed improvements to a residence must meet the criteria as outlined by the ERC loan program guidelines. Related costs for materials, equipment, and labor (if done by a contractor) are all eligible for

Stearns Electric Cooperative offers a variety of rebates to residential members for making energy efficiency improvements in eligible homes. Rebates are available for ENERGY STAR appliances, HVAC equipment, and water heating equipment. All appliances must be Energy Star rated, and other equipment must also meet specific efficiency standards. Certain HVAC rebates may vary based upon system efficiency. For heating and cooling rebates, click here. For appliance rebates, visit the program website listed above.

Vermont offers an investment tax credit for installations of renewable energy equipment on business properties, in order to encourage investment in rehabilitation and qualifying renewable energy projects. Vermont created this credit starting for Tax Year 2002 and provided an additional incentive for solar investments for Tax Year 2008 (via S.B. 209). The project must be eligible for and receive the federal tax credit to receive the state credit. The credit is equal to 24% of the "Vermont-property portion" of the federal business energy tax credit for project leaders. 

For qualifying renewable energy projects the credit is calculated

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

Vermont law forbids ordinances, bylaws, deed restrictions, covenants, declarations, or similar binding agreements from prohibiting (or having the effect of prohibiting) the use of solar collectors, clotheslines, or "other energy devices based on renewable resources." 

A homeowner may be subject to certain restrictions regarding the location of the solar collectors on the roof (orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south) as long as those restrictions do not impact the effectiveness of the solar collectors. However, municipal bylaws may not, to any extent, regulate the installation, operation, and maintenance of a solar water heating

Note: The program is no longer accepting applications, check the program website for updates.

River Falls Municipal Utilities (RFMU), a member of WPPI Energy, offers a special energy purchase rate to its customers that generate electricity using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The special rate, $0.30/kilowatt-hour (kWh), is available to all the RFMU customers on a first-come, first-served basis for systems up to 4 kilowatts (kW). The RFMU program is part of a larger solar buyback program being offered by WPPI to its member utilities, which has a total program limit of 300 kW.

RFMU was originally allocated 10 kW for

Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power offers incentives to electric customers who wish to install energy efficient equipment in participating homes. Incentives are available for CFL and LED light bulbs, tank water heaters and refrigerator recycling. Water heater purchases and installation must be completed between June 9, 2011 and June 8, 2012. Project completion paperwork must be received by July 6, 2012. Customers must send copies of receipts with application for energy efficiency incentives to the address identified on the program application. Contact Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power for any additional information about this program or view the program web site