California Solar Initiative - Pilot Solar Water Heating Program

Summary

As of December 31, 2009, applications are no longer being accepted for this program. The information presented below is provided for reference purposes. On January 21, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave final approval for a $350 million statewide solar water heating incentive program. The statewide program is expected to begin in April 2010. In January 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted a program – the California Solar Initiative (CSI) – to provide more than $3 billion in incentives for solar projects with the objective of providing 3,000 MW of solar capacity by 2017. Although the CSI primarily funds solar electric (photovoltaics) projects, the CPUC also authorized $2.6 million for a pilot solar water heating program. The budget includes program administration, inspections, performance monitoring, program metering and verification and $1.5 million for incentives. This program, launched in July 2007, is administered by the California Center for Sustainable Energy (formerly the San Diego Regional Energy Office) and is available for systems installed on both new and existing residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial buildings owned by electricity customers of San Diego Gas & Electric. For residential and small commercial systems, the maximum incentive is $1,500 and is based on estimated system performance according to the SRCC OG300 system ratings, solar orientation factors, and other inputs. For larger commercial systems, the incentive is a function of collector area and will be adjusted based on factors of system type, collector rating, and solar orientation. Collectors must have an SRCC OG100 rating. The system will be metered and one month of successful meter data will be required to demonstrate the system is working properly before payment of incentive is made.