The Changing State of Solar Power in California
The Changing State of Solar Power in California
From Glenn Croston's blog at Cleantechies:
For decades
Subsidies have always played a major role in the solar industry (as they do for other energy resources as well), helping the industry to grow and costs to fall.
A 30% federal tax credit and other incentives help solar businesses across the country, but state subsidies and utility rebates make a big difference in the solar market from state to state. The California Solar Initiative was initiated in 2006 to reduce the cost of installing solar for customers of investor owned utilities, returning rebates of 9-14% for each installed PV system that qualified, on average. The CSI was started with the goal of installing 1940 new MW of solar generating capacity between 2007 and 2016. The growth of the solar market across the
The CSI has been a great success, so successful in fact that the solar rebate program is years ahead of schedule. The rebates have already declined to about 4% of the system cost, as was scheduled in the CSI program as it proceeds. Now that CSI is nearing its end this seems likely to change the
If no new state subsidies are put in place in
The changes are likely to create opportunities for solar companies in
Another trend may be for businesses to focus on various elements of the industry such as brokering sales, setting up relationships as a solar broker with a variety of preferred installers and manufacturers. A solar broker is analogous to an independent insurance broker, working independently of specific installers to help clients through the solar sales process. By getting multiple bids from different installers, a solar broker can provide residential and non-residential customers with options that no single installer can and make the whole process go more smoothly.
Although the solar market may change in
As the need for clean energy becomes increasingly apparent across the country and around the world, the outlook for the solar power market should continue to shine even as subsidies change. The Japanese nuclear crisis, unrest in the Middle East, and the heavy environmental cost of coal worldwide have pushed governments, businesses, and homeowners to give solar a fresh look. To the extent that government policies create a favorable business environment for solar in states like
Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses” and “Starting Green”, providing training and education for Prime Solar Network and helping businesses everywhere to start and grow green at Starting Up Green.
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