California Solar Initiative

Interest in rooftop solar surges to 50MW in California last month

Californians applied to put more than 50 megawatts (MW) of panels on their homes and businesses in March, a monthly record for the state’s solar program.

Molly Sterkel, CSI project manager for the California Public Utilities Commission, says the 50MW is an indication of strong state wide demand for solar incentives “despite the slow pace of economic recovery in the building sector”.

Under the California Solar Initiative (CSI), customers of investor-owned utilities can apply to the state for a rebate of between $1.10 and $1.90 per watt of installed capacity, depending on location. The incentive levels decline as more solar is installed in each of the three big utilities’ territories.

Two of the three utilities are nearing a step-down in incentives, helping boost demand in March.

The 2,355 customers who “reserved” an incentive payout under the CSI in March have up to 18 months to install their systems.

California, the nation’s leading solar market, hopes to see nearly 2 gigawatts of solar installed under the CSI – which includes solar programmes for affordable housing in addition to the mainstream rebates – by 2017. Through the first quarter, 576MW had been installed.