California Center for Sustainable Energy

In July, CCSE will help Californians in the northernmost areas of the state to go solar with the launch of the new Pacific Power California Solar Incentive Program (PPCSIP). In March, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the new $4.3 million, 3.5 megawatt program that will offer rebates for solar photovoltaic systems to more than 42,000 customers in the top sliver of California, from Crescent City on the coast east to Alturas and south to Mt. Shasta. Pacific Power chose CCSE to administer the program because of its success and experience as program administrators for the California Solar Initiative program in San Diego.

” CCSE is excited to have the opportunity to apply our lessons learned from CSI to another California solar program and look forward to working with Pacific Power and the communities of Del Norte, Siskiyou and Modoc to further develop the California solar market,” said Katrina Morton, CCSE’s CSI nonresidential program manager.”

The PPCSIP will provide residential and commercial incentives starting at $2 per watt, with the amount decreasing by 25 percent through each of seven steps, based on a set number of kilowatts installed per step. Tax exempt entities will also receive an additional $0.75 per watt to help offset their inability to receive any federal tax credits on their solar installation. CCSE will begin accepting applications on July 1.

Incentives will be paid after installation and interconnection on a per watt basis, based on the expected performance of the installed system. Only the first 250 kilowatt of an installation will be eligible for a rebate. To further encourage energy efficiency, the system capacity for installations greater than 5 kilowatts is limited to 90 percent of customer's annual use.

CCSE will help introduce the Pacific Power CSI program and application process through a series of workshops held in Mt. Shasta, Yreka and Crescent City in late June as well as online webinars.

Pacific Power’s parent company is PacificCorp, which provides 1.7 million customers in six Western states with energy.  For more information about PPCSIP, click here.

Continue reading June's newsletter.