Just in time for Fourth of July, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has released a report showing that more Californians are declaring energy independence from fossil power. The CPUC’s most recent California Solar Initiative report shows that California homes, schools and businesses are going solar faster than ever - and most of that growth is happening without state rebates, which have largely been spent down. Some key takeaways include:
- In 2013, the amount of solar installed on California’s rooftops in major IOU territories grew by a record 621 MW– an impressive 73% increase from the amount added in 2012.
- As of the end of Q1 2014, an estimated 2,139 MW of rooftop solar had been installed in those major utility territories, roughly equivalent to four traditional fossil fueled power plants – but clean and emission-free!
- Including the municipal utility territories as well brings the total to over 246,000 individual systems installed amounting to 2,302 MW of installed rooftop solar capacity. That’s a whole lot of California energy consumers taking control of their power supply & their energy bills by going solar.
- Since 2008, the average installed price of CSI systems has declined by 48% for residential systems, and by 52% for commercial systems. Prices cut in half over a period of 5 years – now that’s market transformation!
CSI Progress report shows record CA rooftop solar growth in 2013
The CSI rebate program is a true policy success story. The program was conceived with ambitious goals in mind: to achieve scale and lower costs enough to make rooftop solar a real and growing part of the state’s energy landscape. The CSI was designed to automatically reduce the incentive level in ten predictable “steps” based on target amounts of solar capacity in each utility service territory. As the solar market grew and achieved new economies of scale, the incentive levels dropped predictably down these steps, from $2.50 per watt to zero. Which brings us to today . . .
As indicated in the 2013 report, the CSI is achieving those goals ahead of schedule, and the pace of adoption is increasing even though most CSI rebates have been exhausted. The study shows that 56% of the customers installing rooftop solar in IOU territories in Q4 2013 did not receive any CSI incentive at all, yet we still saw record growth last year. We’ve seen especially strong adoption in low and middle income zip-codes in recent years, which is an exciting sign of the CSI’s success in making solar a mainstream option.
That means solar is delivering energy bill savings, public health benefits and economic benefits for all Californians, including those who need them most. Let’s not forget that at last count, solar jobs in the state numbered more than 47,000. The California Legislature and the CPUC deserve praise for their vision and leadership in creating the CSI, an ambitious program that is working even better than planned!
One other fact from the report caught our eye. A full 91% of the rooftop solar installed by the customers of the big IOUs have opted in to net metering, which allows them to receive full and fair credit on their power bills for the clean energy they send back to the grid. That’s clear evidence of how important a strong net metering policy is for the continued growth of this market. We look forward to working with the CPUC to ensure the rules remain fair for Californians who go solar after the current net metering program reaches capacity around 2017.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!