Columbia Water & Light - Solar Energy Loans

City of Columbia Utilities offers low-interest loans up to $15,000 for residential solar photovoltaic systems, with rates as low as 1% for 3-year terms and no prepayment penalties. You must be a utility customer, property owner with a deed of trust, have good payment history with the utility, and be current on property taxes; residential systems also require minimum insulation levels (R-50 attic, R-19 floor, R-13 ducts, R-10 crawl space). Apply by downloading and printing the Residential Solar Loan Application, submitting it to City of Columbia Utilities at P.O. Box 6015 or via email, and note that you'll need to pay off the loan if you refinance your mortgage or sell your home.

City of Columbia Utilities loans provide customers with affordable financing for PV installations, with residential loans capped at $15,000 and commercial loans at $30,000, allowing contractors to access a customer base seeking solar deployment. Your solar systems must meet specific requirements: photovoltaic panels with 25-year or greater manufacturer's warranty, grid-tie sine-wave inverters with minimum 10-year warranty, and all projects must be permitted by the city's Building and Site Development division before installation; applications must be approved by utilities before work begins, and final inspection requires paid receipts with model numbers and the electrical code permit.

This loan program finances residential and commercial PV systems through low-interest terms (1–5% depending on 3–10 year loan length), with residential caps at $15,000 and commercial at $30,000, funded through utility revenues. Eligibility requires customers to be current on utility payments and property taxes, own property with a deed of trust, and meet residential insulation minimums; the program targets owner-occupied and some multifamily/commercial properties via City of Columbia Utilities' application review and inspection process. All projects require municipal building permits, proof of equipment warranties, and net metering compliance; subordination of the loan to other mortgages is possible but requires two months' processing and approval.