By Barry Cinnamon |
The California Solar Initiative (CSI) program, which provides rebates for homes and businesses, is no longer providing rebates for homeowners in PG&E territory. That’s terrific news. PG&E solar incentives are dead! Long live solar!
As a solar enthusiast, you may think I’m crazy for celebrating the upcoming demise of the single most effective state solar policy in the U.S., but it’s true. The California Solar Initiative was the vehicle for accomplishing the goal of a million solar rooftops in California, established by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005. The CSI program kicked off at the beginning of 2007 to encourage the installation of 2,000 megawatts of customer-owned solar in the state, leveraging about $2 billion in ratepayer “public goods” funds.
To be clear, there are still some rebates available for commercial systems in PG&E territory, as well as lower incentive level rebates in SCE territory. There are also plenty of rebates available for solar thermal systems. But PV incentives for homeowners are effectively gone — and it won’t cause even a blip in California’s solar growth rates.
