State Solar Program Guides
This web page will feature State Solar Program Guides that highlight effective program designs and activities that states can use to advance solar technologies. Please click on the title of the program guide below to learn more.
Mainstreaming Solar Electricity: Strategies for States to Build Local Markets
Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy Group and Steve Weisman, Peregrine Energy Group. April 2008.
The report describes the key policies and program strategies that have emerged as effective tools for states to advance wide-spread solar deployment. The report’s recommendations are based on the input and lessons learned of the members of the Clean Energy States Alliance, a […]
State Strategies to Foster Solar Hot Water System Deployment
Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance, December 2007.
This CESA State Program Guide describes a number of straightforward strategies that states can implement to support adoption of solar hot water (SHW) technologies, including provision of financial incentives, training for installers, and education to help customers make informed decisions. It also provides recommendations for the development of […]
Photovoltaic Incentive Design Handbook
Tom E. Hoff, Clean Power Research, December 2006. NREL/SR-640-40845.
This NREL handbook is designed for agencies and utilities that offer or intend to offer incentive programs for customer-owned PV systems. Its purpose is to help select, design, and implement incentive programs that best meet programmatic goals. It discusses the various incentive structures that are used, […]
Designing PV Incentive Programs to Promote Performance - A Review of Current Practice
Galen Barbose, Ryan Wiser, and Mark Bolinger, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. October 2006.
This CESA-LBNL case study examines the approaches used to encourage PV system performance - including, but not limited to, performance-based incentives (PBIs) - used by 32 prominent PV incentive programs in the U.S. The report provides a point of reference for assessing […]
Strategies to Foster Solar Energy & Advanced Efficiency in Affordable Multi-Family Housing
Prepared by Clean Energy Group and Peregrine Energy Group, Inc. February 2006.
This Clean Energy State Program Guide describes how state clean energy programs, in partnership with state housing agencies, can advance the use of clean energy technologies in low-income residential housing. The report provides states with targeted strategies for implementing a program to support […]
Supporting Photovoltaics in Market-Rate Residential New Construction: A Summary of Programmatic Experience to Date and Lessons Learned
Galen Barbose, Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. February 2006.
This CESA - LBNL Case Study summarizes programmatic experience and lessons learned from the state clean energy funds and describes early efforts by state clean energy funds to support the deployment of PV in new, market-rate homes. The report focuses on the activities […]
Learning by Doing: The Evolution of State Support for PV
Mark Bolinger and Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. June 2003.
This LBNL report briefly discusses lessons learned from states with clean energy funds regarding their experiences with "buy-down" programs used to offset the high up-front costs of PV systems. These include capital grants and rebates. This report discusses how various states are crafting new programs […]