With a PUC vote on the horizon, the final tally is in! Solar, environmental, public interest and science groups banded together to help Californians send nearly 60,000 messages asking the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to expand a popular clean energy program called net metering. » Read the rest of this entry «

Introduction: Vote Solar’s Annie Carmichael recently sat down with Stan Greschner, Director of the Single-family Affordable Solar Homes Program (SASH) at GRID Alternatives. We learned some surprising facts about who’s going solar in California. » Read the rest of this entry «

Our net metering coalition set a goal of sending 20,000 emails asking for a YES vote on fair solar credit at the California Public Utilities Commission. We were blown away by the response. More than 34,000 Californians have urged the CPUC to support the pro-solar plan! So let’s double down . . .

Can we send 40,000 emails to the CPUC by May 15? We say YES! » Read the rest of this entry «

Today we’re celebrating an interim win for California rooftop solar along with our partners at SEIA, IREC and the Sierra Club. Together we have been working to encourage the utility regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to clarify the methodology being used to calculate the cap on the state’s net metering program, that billing arrangement that allows solar power customers’ meters to spin backwards and generate savings on their electricity bills. Well PUC Chairmain Peevey has just issued a proposed decision on the cap methodology that, if approved by the full Commission, will help boost solar use by homeowners, businesses, and public agencies in a big way. » Read the rest of this entry «

Credit: Environment CA

This morning our friends at Environment California released a new report ranking California cities by the amount of solar they’ve installed. The good news?

“From Fresno to San Francisco and Clovis to Culver City, solar power is becoming a mainstream technology throughout California,” said Michelle Kinman, clean energy advocate with Environment California Research & Policy Center and co-author of the report. “Solar power is booming in California and with the right leadership we can continue to benefit from the cleaner air and local jobs that this industry inevitably brings.” » Read the rest of this entry «

The California Solar Initiative requires that solar systems that receive an incentive be sized to meet on-site load.  However, what if you install a solar system, then your kids go off to college?  Suddenly, without the hairdryers, radios, and extra computers, you may find yourself with extra solar generation at the end of the year. Previously, any excess generation, after the annual net metering true-up, was gifted to utilities. AB 920 (Huffman; sponsored by Environment California) passed in 2009, required California Investor-Owned Utilities to purchase net surplus generation at a rate set by the Commission, under some very specific parameters.  » Read the rest of this entry «