Community Solar in California

Background

D.18-06-027 established that each IOU would file an Application for Review for their DAC-GT and CSGT programs by January 1, 2021.  The Commission’s Executive Director extended the deadline to May 31, 2022. On August 10, 2022, the Commission issued a ruling that consolidated the applications into a single proceeding, A.22-05-022. Concurrently, with the passage of AB 2316 (Ward, 2022) and AB 2838 (O’Donnell, 2022), the Commission has folded the legislative directive to review its existing customer renewable energy subscription programs including Disadvantaged Green Tariff (DAC-GT), Community Solar Green Tariff (CSGT) and Green Tariff Shared Renewables (GTSR) programs into this proceeding.

This proceeding will review program goals, budget, capacity, design, implementation, and consumer protections and explore new authorization for the Commission to allow the IOUs to terminate their GTSR programs. It will also evaluate whether these programs achieve the specified goals of AB 2316 and will modify the programs as necessary and consider whether to adopt a new community renewable energy program. A Scoping Memo and Ruling listing the issues to be determined in this proceeding was issued in December 2022. A Ruling revising the procedural schedule was issued in February 2023.

Current Proceeding Events

An online workshop was held on February 27, 2023, to better understand party proposals for existing and new Community Renewable Energy Programs served on January 20^th and allow parties and attendees to ask clarifying questions. (Workshop Agenda | Slides)

How to Participate in this Proceeding

Visit the CPUC's brochures webpage to find information on what happens in a proceeding, informal and formal participation, making public comments, participation at hearings and workshops, the CPUC's Intervenor Compensation Program, and ex parte communications with CPUC decisionmakers.

If you want to be notified of events in A.22-05-022 et al., sign up for the proceeding's service list here.

Community Renewable Energy Subscription Programs

Subsidized Programs

The Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff (DAC-GT) enables income-qualified, utility or CCA residential customers in DACs who may be unable to install solar on their roof to benefit from a pool of grid scale clean energy projects and receive a 20 percent bill discount. The program is modeled after the existing Green Tariff portion of the Green Tariff/Shared Renewables Programs and is available to customers who meet the income eligibility requirements for the CARE and FERA programs. The program has a capacity cap of 158 MW and has enrolled approximately 24,000 customers to date.

The Community Solar Green Tariff (CSGT) enables utility and CCA residential customers in DACs who may be unable to install solar on their roof to benefit from a local solar project and receive a 20 percent bill discount. The communities work with a local non-profit or government “sponsor” to organize community interest and present siting locations to the utility or CCA; the sponsor can also receive an incentive for its efforts. The program has a capacity cap of 41 MW and is anticipated to begin enrolling customers in 2023.

Market-Rate Programs