'Edit Incentive' Screen

The ‘Edit Incentive’ screen is where you can make edits to either ‘Incentive Details’ or ‘Cash Flows,’ which we will review individually. Your ETB Account Manager is always available to help in building incentives as well. On this screen, you will find the following sections: 

General Info

In General Info, you can define the incentive name and status (Active or Archived). An incentive needs to be “Active” to be displayed under the suggested incentives list when building a proposal.

Description

A detailed description of the incentive.

Eligibility Info

Eligibility Info allows you to defined the system type (Solar PV or Energy Storage), country, state or federal jurisdiction, utility territory (which you select from the drop-down menu), and eligible sectors for the incentive.

 

System Tax Basis

 Where you define the portion of total incentive removed from federal or state tax basis.

 

Custom Reference Variables

This is where you can create Custom Reference Variables to reference against in their 'Cash Flows.' The variables could be different incentive levels or tiers within an incentive. The inputs for the references can be Fixed Value, User Input, Reference Value, or ETB Sheet.

• Fixed Value:  a static value that will not change. You will be asked to give it a Name and its Value which will then be used to calculate the transaction.
• User Input: option which allows users to create a blank variable that will prompt users to enter in its value each time the incentive is used in a proposal. This option is perfect for Operation and Maintenance costs, Interest rates, or other values which change from project to project.
• Reference Value: you will be given the option to choose a specific variable from our list, automatically pulling information from your project for that value type. An example of this is “Total Project Cost.” If you were to select this option and place it in a calculation, it will pull the total project cost within that proposal and use that value in the calculation. You also have the option to select any Custom Reference Variables you have created and add them into a calculation as well.
• ETB Sheet: This option will function very similarly to Excel and allow you to input reference variables and perform simple or complex calculations. 

Utility Rate References

Utility Rate References allow you to reference Rate Schedule Cost and Net Metering Parameters from inside of your incentive. Once a Utility Rate Reference is added, you can use it as a custom reference variable and add it to your incentive cash flows. 

Cash Flows

Cash Flows in Custom Incentives are very similar to Cash Flows in Custom Transactions. You can specify the different payment types and conditions of those payments for a given incentive. You can create 1 or many ‘Cash Flow Stream’ for a given Incentive. You can also create one or several ‘Conditions’ for a given ‘Cash Flow Stream.’ From the ‘Edit Incentive’ screen, you can see a summary of the ‘Cash Flows’ for a given incentive. Clicking on any of the hyperlinks allows you to add or edit those ‘Cash Flow’ and ‘Cash Flow Stream.’

 

At the top of each Cash Flow summary, you can define the Cash Flow name, Cash Flow Type (Payment/Income), and Income type (income, payment, Federal Tax Credit, etc.)

Stream Details: 

• Stream Type: whether the ‘Cash Flow’ is a single payment, monthly payment, annual payment, or amortization schedule. Each Stream type provides several conditions that you can individually define.
  • Amortization Schedule: A table that lists each regular payment over time. A portion of each payment would be applied to the principle and interest. Throughout the amortization, a larger percentage of the payment will shift towards the principle, and less will be applied to interest.
  • Single Payment: A calculation that will occur one time for one defined year.
  • Monthly Payment: An annual payment based on a Monthly Payment Amount
  • Annual Payment: The total amount paid over one year, which would repeat each year.

• Payment Amount: This will reference which specific value will be used as your starting payment amount for the Stream. The inputs for these references can be either Fixed Value, User Input, Reference Value, or ETB Sheet.

   

  Changes Taxable Income: whether or not the calculation will be applied to State and/or Federal Taxes. Please consult a tax professional for advice if you are unsure what to select. Selecting "False" will always be a conservative approach.

+Add Condition: You can specify certain conditions to be met, as it relates to the ‘Cash Flow Stream.’ For example, a user can specify that a project is eligible for a certain incentive value “IF” the system size is “greater than or equal to” a certain value.