California Solar Initiative: A Self-Sustaining Industry for Renewable Energy

Strategic Insights -

The California Solar Initiative (CSI) was established in 2006 to promote the adoption of solar energy systems in California. The program was funded by the state's electricity ratepayers and managed by the Program Administrators, representing California's three major electric investor-owned utilities. The CSI had a total budget of $2.167 billion between 2007 and 2016, with the goal of installing approximately 1,940 MWAC of new solar generation capacity. The program's success led to the installation of 724,816 behind-the-meter (BTM) solar PV systems with 5,885 MWAC of capacity by the end of 2017.

Key Takeaways:

  • The CSI program achieved its primary goal of creating a self-sustaining solar industry in California, with approximately 80% of installed customer solar systems installed without CSI program rebates.
  • The program's widespread adoption of solar across different household economics and demographics ensured that the benefits from solar adoption were available to all Californians, not just those with higher incomes.
  • By 2017, BTM solar generated over 9 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, representing approximately 5% of the total system electric consumption for PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.
  • Solar generation reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 3.5 million metric tons of CO2 in 2017, equivalent to removing over 700,000 passenger cars from the road.
  • The average capacity factor (CF) of PV systems during the top 200 hours of CAISO load hours ranged from 0.35 to 0.50, with systems in PG&E territory showing higher CFs due to longer summer days and more sunlight in northern latitudes.
  • The overall mean performance degradation rate of PV systems was 1.35%, developed using the RdTools software created by NREL.

Statistics:

  • Total CSI budget: $2.167 billion
  • Goal: Install approximately 1,940 MWAC of new solar generation capacity
  • Actual installed capacity by 2017: 5,885 MWAC
  • BTM solar installations by 2017: 724,816 systems
  • Total BTM solar generation by 2017: 9 TWh
  • Greenhouse gas emissions reduction in 2017: 3.5 million metric tons of CO2
  • Equivalent emissions reduction: Removal of over 700,000 passenger cars

Sources:

  • California Solar Initiative (CSI) Final Impact Evaluation
  • California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
  • California's electricity ratepayers
  • Program Administrators (PAs)
  • California's three major electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs): PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)