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SAN FRANCISCO, California, US, January 18, 2006
(Refocus Weekly)
California’s Public Utilities Commission has
voted 3 to-1 to create the largest solar program of its kind in any
state in the U.S.
The ten-year California Solar Initiative will provide US$2.9
billion to accelerate the transition to clean energy and to reduce
the consumer costs of solar electricity. The goal is to increase the
capacity of installed rooftop PV panels by 3,000 MW by 2017.
The lone dissent, commissioner Brown, said he supported the goal but
voted against the proposal for procedural reasons.
"California has long been a leader on environmentally sound
approaches to the provision of energy. We adopted formalized
policies on renewable power and energy efficiency in our Energy
Action Plans," says PUC president Michael Peevey. "The California
Solar Initiative continues that tradition with an aggressive new
program to promote solar development."
The Solar Initiative includes $2.9 billion in rebates which will
decline steadily over the decade, with funds coming from electric
and gas distribution customers of investor owned utilities to fund
installation of solar PV at the start, with solar thermal water
heating and solar heating and cooling systems being added later. The
California Energy Commission will oversee a component of $350
million which will focus on builders and developers of new housing,
to encourage solar installations in the residential new construction
market. The PUC will oversee the majority of $2.5 billion to cover
existing residential housing, as well as commercial and industrial
properties.
The program sets aside 10% of program funding for low income
customers and affordable housing installations. The PUC will explore
the option of offering low cost financing options to those types of
installations in workshops this year.
"The California Solar Initiative is the largest solar program in the
country and I hope it will be a model for other states," adds
commissioner Dian Grueneich. "The program will be a major source of
dependable and environmentally friendly electricity, and is a major
tool in the state's promise to address climate change and meet the
governor's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
The program includes an additional amount of up to 5% of the annual
budget for potential R&D, with emphasis on demonstration of solar
and solar related technologies. It also includes a requirement that
solar incentives be made not just for installed capacity, but also
with emphasis on the performance and output of solar systems, and
requires all facilities that receive an incentive to undergo an
energy efficiency audit to identify cost effective energy efficiency
investment options.
"Today's decision signals California's vote for a cleaner, more
reliable energy future," says commissioner Rachelle Chong. "Now it's
up to Californians to make this a reality by stepping up to the
plate to go solar."
The incentives will go to solar PV and solar thermal electric
projects under 1 MW capacity, with an initial PV level of $2.80 per
watt to be reduced by 10% each year. The incentive for solar thermal
electric and solar space heating will be determined this year.
Electricity customers will pay an average of $12 a year and
residential natural gas consumers will pay $1.40. The total impact
on residential bills will be minimal because the cost of the solar
program will be offset by the 2007 expiration of a surcharge on
utility bills to repay rate reduction bonds authorized in 1996 for
electric sector restructuring.
The California program is the second largest in the world, after
Germany, and the Vote Solar group estimates the initiative will
result in a net positive benefit for California of $1.2 to $18.2
billion, depending on the cost of avoided power and timeframe, and
would create 39,948 to 61,458 job-years by 2026.
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