Calif. hits a renewable energy milestone

California has hit a major renewable energy milestone: state regulators reported Thursday that more than 1 gigawatt -- or 1,000 megawatts -- of solar power has been installed throughout the state through the California Solar Initiative, the state's aggressive program to encourage homeowners, businesses, local governments and nonprofit organizations to install solar panels on their roofs.

San Jose alone has installed 54.6 megawatts on homes and commercial buildings, making it California's top solar city. San Diego is a close second, followed by and Bakersfield, Fresno and Lancaster.

One megawatt is enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes. But since the sun doesn't shine all the time, solar industry experts say that 1 megawatt of solar can power about 200 households.

Launched in 2007, the California Solar Initiative is an ambitious road map that calls for 1,940 new megawatts of solar power to be installed in the state by 2016.

At the end of 2012, the CSI program had installed 1,066 megawatts in its general market and affordable housing programs, which mean it is more than halfway, or 55 percent, toward the 1,940 megawatt goal. Of that, 558 megawatts are installed in PG&E's vast northern California territory. An additional 332 megawatts, or 17 percent of the total, are in the pipeline.

"California has the most customer-side solar installations of any state in the nation," said Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. "This

is a tremendous milestone for California and a testament to the success of the California Solar Initiative."

The goal of the program is to help solar achieve what's known in the renewable energy industry as "grid parity" -- the much-awaited point where solar can compete with cheaper sources of energy such as natural gas.

The initiative is based on financial incentives that decline over time. When the program launched in 2007, consumers could get rebates as high as $2.50 a watt across the state. But the demand has been so strong that the incentive has fallen to just 20 cents a watt in PG&E territory.

"Incentives are falling quickly," said Melicia Charles, solar program manager for the CPUC. "It's happening much faster than many expected."

Source: http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_22354208/calif-hits-renewable-energy-milestone?source=rss_viewed

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