Potential Solar Power Provider discourages participation in incentive program?

[notemily]

OK - Please excuse me if this has been brought up before ... I am a newbie ... So we live in Utah and heard about the lottery system that Rocky Mountain Power uses for residential customers. If chosen (~10% chance) we could save $5000 on our installation cost. The first company we had out to talk about installing solar panels told us not to do it because Rocky Mountain Power will "own" our electricity for 20 years. I went to the Rocky Mountain Power website and it notes: Renewable Energy Certificates: The Company retains an ownership right in any Renewable Energy Certificate associated with a participating facility equal to 0.28 MWh/ per incentivized kW per year for 20 years. No one will explain this to me and if this is really important and a reason not to try and save $5000?

I don't understand enough about the Renewable Energy Certificates but what value would they be to me outside of having Rocky Mountain Power control them? What do I, as I residential customer do with them anyways? It seems to me to be a pressure/sales initiative with the potential installer because they want us to sign on the dotted line now but if we applied to the lottergy we would have to wait until next year.

Thanks for any advice!

[Naptown]

.28 a MWH is not a lot of money and probably not worth bothering about losing or gaining.
Now that is probably .28 or $280.00 per MWH or 1000 KWH hours
If the contract is for 20 years and you take that it would be a substantial difference.
The 5000 they would give you as a discount actually works out to 3500 after the federal rebate
A 5 KW system performing miserably would produce 5 MWH per year
After a bit over 2 years you end up the same as the rebate financially but lose out on 1400 per year for the next 17 years.