CSI Annual Program Assessment Report to the Legislature

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 00:00 Melicia Charles - Public Utilities Regulatory Analyst

| Print |

The CPUC’s California Solar Initiative team issued its Annual Program Assessment Report to the Legislature. Some interesting facts regarding the CSI Service List R.08-03-008 and highlights include:

California has over 500 MW of solar photovoltaic ( PV) connected to the electric grid at customer sites; this is equivalent to one large power plant. With recent rapid growth, California now has over 515 MW of cumulative installed solar PV capacity at nearly 50,000 sites; 226 MW of this was installed in the past 2½ years under the California Solar Initiative.
The annual rate for new installed solar capacity in California nearly doubled in 2008 over 2007 (from 81 MW per year to 156 MW per year), a marked increase from the 30-40 percent annual growth rate of prior years.
Despite the challenging economic situation, installation data suggests that the California Solar Initiative could install at least the same amount of megawatts in 2009 as 2008, with 78 MW already installed through May 2009.
The program continues to see strong demand, with May 2009 the highest month on record for new solar applications. The California Solar Initiative has over 22,000 solar applications, including both pending and installed systems, which will account for an estimated 373 MW of new solar capacity.
After 2½ years, the California Solar Initiative has installed 13 percent of the total 10-year program goal, and it has another 8 percent in applications pending installation.