Connecticut’s solar rebate program is one of the most generous in the United States and because of this is very popular. Since 2005, more than $85 million has been doled out for 815 residential solar projects and 127 business and government projects.

Unfortunately the rebate program for home and business owners who purchase solar systems was so popular that the funds are all used up only six months into the two-year funding period.

A 300 percent growth in purchases of residential systems for the second half of 2008 used up the entire $8.5 million allocation. Because the commercial program is likely to exhaust its two-year allotment of more than $18 million this spring, state officials have announced that they are no longer accepting applications for the solar rebate program.

The problem now is that unless more money is put into the program, the business that has been generated over it’s four-year life will be lost, forcing companies to close and hundreds of jobs to be lost.

Michael Trahan, executive director of Solar Connecticut told the New York Times “We don’t want to be in position to put together all this wonderful momentum and then tell them we can’t sustain them: ‘Go away,’…That’s a serious hiccup that will take years to fix.”

However, there is still some funding available as part of the Connecticut Solar Lease program, as it is the cash-back rebate part that has dried up. Leasing is not the same as owning and may not be for everyone. But the no-money-down solar leases can obviously be more economically viable for people who could not otherwise stomach the substantial up-front cost of buying and installing a solar system.