I had heard it and could not believe it. If you live in MA and qualify, you can get a Rebate from Mass save for a Heat pump water heater.

You can buy a GE Geospring from Sears, for $999.00  The rebate is in this case $999.00  )$1000 but no more than cost of the unit) You have to pay to have it installed, but that amount would be subject to the 30% Federal tax credt.

Bet there are a lot of folks in MA putting in water heaters......

I'm a participating contractor in a program that pays 60% of the homeowners cost of all the home performance upgrades the auditors deem necessary, that includes water heaters, furnace replacement, insulation, air sealing, ect. No real cap of the amount either, and if homeowners complete all of the measures they get a $250.00 bonus.