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 «
For some, December probably meant eggnogs, football, relatives, etc. For the California solar industry, it meant a record month of rooftop, behind-the-meter solar. There were over 36 MW of customer-owned installations–the highest since the California Solar Initiative’s inception, and over 130 MW worth of incentive applications. Details on the California Solar Statistics site, here.
This is all the more remarkable, since residential solar incentives have been reduced (as scheduled) from $4.50/W to between 25 cents and 35 cents/W. And the non-residential incentives are 4.4 cents/kWh of generation, for 5 years (equivalent to a 5-year, 4.4 cent/kWh SREC contract).
Note that this does not include all the wholesale solar installations (RPS/RAM/FIT).
Sure beats rumcake.
Looking to build a more sustainable, secure and prosperous energy future for California, Governor Jerry Brown has called for the development of 12,000 MW of distributed renewables like rooftop solar. To put that impressive goal in perspective, it’s more than twelve times the amount of solar that’s been deployed to date under the state’s popular CSI program. Achieving the Governor’s vision requires participation and collaboration from utilities, industry, consumers, regulators and local government alike – no small feat. Addressing those challenges is the focus of a two-day conference taking place at UCLA. Our own Adam Browning will be adding his insights in tomorrow’s financing design discussion – but today’s agenda kicked off with introductory remarks from the Governor and a panel of industry representatives. » Read the rest of this entry «
