The California Public Utilities Commission has unanimously approved the first phase of the California Solar Initiative, just two days after unveiling the 11-year proposal to install 3,000 MW of clean solar power in California. The vote makes $300 million in funds available for 2005 and 2006 solar projects on California schools, farms, businesses, and public facilities.
“As the price of natural gas and electricity reach record levels, we applaud the PUC for providing consumers with a practical solution to reduce their energy costs,” said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “The California Solar Initiative will allow thousands of homeowners and businesses to turn to reliable solar energy as a means for reducing their energy bills. Today’s vote will ensure uninterrupted solar market growth in 2006 and facilitate the transition to the long-term program set out in the PUC proposal.”
The $300 million triples the amount of funding originally allocated for the PUC’s Solar Generation Incentive Program in 2006. Projects currently in the SGIP’s backlog will qualify for rebates of $3 per watt, while 2006 qualifying projects will receive $2.80 per watt. In addition, $58 million remains available for homeowners and small businesses to invest in solar panels via the California Energy Commission’s rebate program in 2006.
The PUC is expected to vote on its proposed California Solar Initiative on January 12th. From 2007 to 2016, the PUC would provide $2.5 billion in customer incentives for solar projects on existing residential buildings, as well as all public buildings, industrial facilities, businesses, and agricultural facilities. The CEC program would provide $350 million in incentives for new homes, specifically targeting collaborations with the builder/developer community. Incentives would be gradually reduced over time and phased out by 2016. The program, if adopted in mid-January by the PUC, will be the nation’s largest solar power investment, designed to make solar power mainstream and affordable.
“A long-term program with secure funding is key to bringing down solar costs and planning responsibly for California’s energy future,” said Barry Cinnamon, president of the California Solar Energy Industries Association and CEO of Akeena Solar. “From an industry perspective, this program will eliminate the stop-start incentive cycle, and create market conditions that allow solar companies to make new long-term investments that will bring solar to the public.”
Solar technologies eligible to participate in the program would include photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, and solar water heating. All projects would have to be customer-sited and between one kilowatt and one megawatt in size. The money would come from existing funds already earmarked for solar power and a de minimis additional surcharge on monthly electric bills over eleven years. According to a staff report prepared by the PUC last summer, this $3.2 billion investment in solar could save California ratepayers an estimated $9 billion.
“Given this winter’s high energy bills and the urgent need to reduce the state’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, this landmark solar initiative is exactly what California’s economy and environment need,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro of Environment California. “Clean energy solutions, like this forward-thinking solar proposal, are what the majority of California voters are demanding.”
“The public pressure to implement this program has been nothing less than inspiring,” added David Hochschild of the Vote Solar Initiative. “Over the last two months, 43,000 people wrote to the Public Utilities Commissioners to ask them to pass this program – more public comment than the PUC has received on any issue they have ever considered, including the 2001 energy crisis. It shows that public support for solar and renewables has reached a new threshold.”
The solar proposal is expected to be voted on by the five-member PUC in mid-January, after a 30-day public comment period initiated today. If adopted, the program is likely to go into effect by the start of 2007.
SEIA is the national trade association of solar energy manufacturers, dealers, distributors, contractors, installers, architects, consultants and marketers. Established in 1975, SEIA works to expand the use of solar technologies in the global marketplace.
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