The New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) is part of a comprehensive statewide solar program known as the California Solar Initiative (CSI).The NSHP implements the Energy Commission’s portion of the CSI and provides financial incentives to encourage the installation of eligible, solar energy systems on new residential construction. The Energy Commission will work with builders and developers to incorporate high levels of energy efficiency and high-performing solar systems to help create a self-sustaining solar market.

 The NSHP seeks to achieve 400 megawatts of installed solar electric capacity in California by the end of 2016.

Download the Report (link)
File Type: PDF
Source: California Energy Commission

For more information, please see their website by clicking here.

March 30, 2010
1 pm – 2 pm EDT
Renewable Energy Finance and Policy Toolkit

Clean Energy Group and Council of State Governments Webcast

State clean energy funds and programs have a variety of financing tools at their disposal to support distributed renewable energy deployment.  Historically, states have relied heavily on rebates and other forms of direct project assistance.  However, states are increasingly looking for ways to leverage available dollars.  This webinar will review the Renewable Energy Finance Toolkit recently published by Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA).  The toolkit provides an overview of established and emerging financing tools–including their strengths, weaknesses and best practices– which states can use to advance clean energy.

Charlie Kubert, CESA Project Director and key author of the report, will cover findings from the report and explain how these finance and policy tools can be used as a portfolio of approaches to create the most robust and effective clean energy programs.

Download the Report
File Format: PDF
File Source: Clean Energy States Alliance If you would like to register for this March 30th webcast, please send an email to maria@cleanegroup.org with “PV Toolkit” in the subject line and include your contact information; the call in information will be provided at that time.

Download the Report (link)
File Format: PDF
Source: California Public Utilities Commission

Over the past decade, states have played an increasingly important role in providing financial support to renewable energy projects, with funding often derived from state-established public benefit funds. The financial support tools for renewable energy projects have ranged from rebates to competitive grants to loans. Complementing these tools has been a set of public policies— tax incentives, net metering and interconnection rules, renewable portfolio standards—passed by state legislatures and regulators. Recently, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) also provided significant funding to states to support clean energy investments.

The purpose of this report is to describe the many financing options available to state energy offices, municipal governments, and other energy agencies for utilizing public funds for clean energy project support. The report analyzes their strengths and weaknesses and identifies best practices. One key finding is that, while each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, the use of these tools as a portfolio of approaches creates the most robust, effective programs.

Download the Report
File Format: PDF
File Souce: Clean Energy States Alliance

Clean Energy Group and Clean Energy States Alliance will host a PV Webinar on LBNL’s recent report, “Tracking the Sun II – The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the U.S. from 1998-2008.” Galen Barbose of LBNL, one of the report’s principal authors, will brief attendees on the key findings from the report.

The LBNL report provides a comprehensive summary of installed cost trends for grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States from 1998 through 2008, updating an earlier report that contained data through 2007. The updated report is based on project-level data from more than 52,000 residential and non-residential PV systems, totaling 566 MW of capacity and representing 71% of all grid-connected PV capacity installed in the U.S. through 2008. These data were provided by 27 PV incentive programs spanning 16 states.

The report finds that average installed costs have declined over time, from $10.8/W in 1998 to $7.5/W in 2008 (in real 2008 dollars per installed watt DC).  Importantly, average costs declined by approximately $0.3/W from 2007 to 2008, following several preceding years (2005-2007) when they remained essentially flat.  The cost reductions from 2007 to 2008 were associated with a decline in module costs, in contrast to earlier years when cost reductions were associated primarily with a decline in non-module costs.

The report also finds evidence of sizable economies of scale among the PV systems in our sample, significant variation in average installed cost among states, and cost advantages for PV installed in residential new construction relative to the retrofit market.  The report also describes trends in financial incentive levels over time, by customer type and among states, and the associated impact of these trends on the net installed cost of PV for residential and commercial PV system owners after receipt of incentives.

The report can be downloaded here: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/emp/re-pubs.html.

If you would like to register for this November 12thwebinar, please send an email to maria@cleanegroup.org with “PV Cost Trends Webinar” in the subject line and include your contact information; the call in information will be provided at that time.

This report provides a comprehensive summary of installed cost trends for grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States from 1998 through 2008, updating an earlier report that contained data through 2007.  The updated report is based on project-level data from more than 52,000 residential and non-residential PV systems, totaling 566 MW of capacity and representing 71% of all grid-connected PV capacity installed in the U.S. through 2008.  These data were provided by 27 PV incentive programs spanning 16 states.

The report finds that average installed costs have declined over time, from $10.8/W in 1998 to $7.5/W in 2008 (in real 2008 dollars per installed watt DC).  Importantly, average costs declined by approximately $0.3/W from 2007 to 2008, following several preceding years (2005-2007) when they remained essentially flat.  The cost reductions from 2007 to 2008 were associated with a decline in module costs, in contrast to earlier years when cost reductions were associated primarily with a decline in non-module costs.

Costs are generally lower in states with larger PV deployment programs (though exceptions exist), and international experience suggests that greater near-term cost reductions are possible, with Germany and Japan exhibiting significantly lower average installed costs for residential PV systems than the U.S.  The report finds evidence of sizable economies of scale among the PV systems in our sample, significant variation in average installed cost among states, and cost advantages for PV installed in residential new construction relative to the retrofit market.  The report also describes trends in financial incentive levels over time, by customer type and among states, and the associated impact of these trends on the net installed cost of PV for residential and commercial PV system owners after receipt of incentives.

The report can be downloaded from: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/emp/re-pubs.htmlA
PowerPoint presentation that summarizes key findings can be found at: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/emp/emp-ppt.html

Funding support for this report was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Program, and the Clean Energy States Alliance.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s California Solar Initiative (CSI) team issued its October Staff Progress Report on October 21, 2009.   Highlights of the report include:

• The California Solar Initiative (CSI) Program has reached 257 megawatt (MW) of installed solar at 21,159 sites since 2007.
• California has reached a cumulative 509 MW of installed solar at 52,714 sites (which includes sites installed prior to the start of CSI in 2007).
• The report focuses on Q3 2009 in which the CSI Program saw record high demand for new solar applications, including over 2,200 program applications in the month of August alone.
• Small solar systems prices declined 9 percent and large system prices declined by 13 percent since the same quarter last year.
• In addition to the CSI general market incentive program, all other CSI Program components continue to make key progress towards goals, including the CSI Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D), and the CSI Solar Water Heating Pilot Program (SWHPP). as well as the two affordable housing programs – CSI’s Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) and CSI Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH).

To download the report, click here:

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/091021_staffprogressreport.htm

This report showcases smart marketing strategies from clean energy programs and solar marketers from across the country that address how to overcome the barriers faced by solar technology markets and serves as a guide for states in pursuing their own market planning process. Effective marketing guides how, when, and where product information is presented to consumers, with the ultimate goal of persuading consumers to purchase a particular brand or product. Therefore, state solar program managers must see themselves as a critical part of the solar sales process.

Consumers consistently report a preference for energy produced from renewable energy sources but invariably fail to purchase renewable energy in sizeable numbers. Research conducted by SmartPower and detailed in this report was designed to identify the barriers to solar purchases, address consumer concerns, and provide state solar programs with guidelines that should be integrated into their overall marketing approach. SmartPower’s findings concluded that there are four primary barriers to solar market growth, and ALL four must be addressed to expand the market. Those barriers include:

1. Cost. Consumers report high up-front and out-of-pocket costs and long payback periods deter them from installing solar energy technology.
2. Reliability. The absence of solar technologies in the public’s eye and confusion about its performance and capabilities create concerns about the reliability of solar technology; it is not perceived as up to the task of powering our energy needs.
3. Complexity. The time consuming and complex nature of purchasing and installing solar energy systems discourages potential customers.
4. Inertia. The lengthy decision-making process and financial complexity of the solar sale often result in consumer inertia.

In addition to addressing these barriers, solar programs also must create a connection with customers through marketing messages that are likely to enhance interest and lead to further inquiry. Messages that connect on a financial or value level are most likely to succeed. This guide cites many marketing initiatives that are contributing to the growth and interest in solar across the country. However, the guide is not meant to be a clearinghouse of all solar marketing programs, nor an endorsement of any one particular approach. Instead, it is offered to provide solar programs and stakeholders with examples of innovative strategies that can make a difference in solar marketing.

Download the report
File format: PDF
Source: Clean Energy Group

Download the presentation
File Format: PDF
File Source: Clean Energy Group