The
California Solar Initiative program has substantially achieved its objective of
stimulating widespread adoption of solar energy and creating a self-sustaining
market!
The
program, which closed to new applications on December 31, 2016, achieved
installation of 1,750 megawatts (MW) of customer-sited solar capacity by the
program’s end, installing 1,837 megawatts (MW), with another 94 MW reserved in
pending projects.
Further,
customer-sited solar installations increased by 22 percent in 2016, largely
without incentive rebates. In 2016 in the large investor-owned utility
territories, 99 percent of customer-sited solar projects were interconnected
through the Net Energy Metering (NEM) tariff without participating in the
California Solar Initiative program.
In its
new 2017 Annual Program Assessment, the CPUC reports that:
● Through the end of 2016, an
estimated 5,036 MW of solar capacity were installed at 606,185 customer sites
in Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison
(SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) territories.
● In 2016, 1,228 MW were installed
in PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E territories, 22 percent more than was installed
in 2015.
Other California
Solar Initiative program highlights include:
● The California Solar Initiative
Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) program, which provides solar
incentives on qualifying affordable single-family housing, has completed a
total of 6,284 projects, representing 19.1 MW of installed capacity on eligible
homes. There are an additional 357 SASH projects in progress, with a total
capacity of more than 1.2 MW.
● The CSI Multifamily Affordable
Solar Housing (MASH) program, which provides solar incentives on qualifying
affordable housing multifamily dwellings, has completed 403 projects,
representing 31.6 MW of installed capacity. There are an additional 221
MASH projects in progress or under review, with a total capacity of 29.7 MW.
● Through the end of 2016, the
California Solar Initiative Thermal program, which promotes solar water heating
through a program of direct financial incentives to retail customers, approved
4,826 applications for $67.3 million in incentives of the available $205
million California Solar Initiative Thermal incentive budget.
● The California Solar Initiative
Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment program has conducted five
project solicitations since its inception, resulting in grant funding for 37
projects, totaling $41.2 million. Funded projects have focused on the following
areas: integration of solar photovoltaics into the electricity grid, energy
generation technologies and business development, and grid integration and
production technologies.
Read more in our June
2017 California Solar Initiative Annual Program Assessment.