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.
Solarize Portland
The Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit public purpose organization dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy development, is partnering with the City of Portland and local neighborhood coalitions to offer residents of Portland a unique group purchasing mechanism for installing solar electric systems in their communities. Solarize Portland is an innovative program that helps residents overcome the financial [...]
State Clean Energy Program Guide: A Review of Emerging State Finance Tools to Advance Solar Generation
by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA). March 2010.
This CESA report provides an overview and specific examples of three creative finance tools that any state can use to support PV in the context of an existing RPS: solar set-asides, feed-in tariffs, and reverse auction mechanisms. These tools are primarily targeted at commercial- and [...]
New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) Guidebook – 3rd Edition
The California Energy Commission has released publication #CEC-300-2010-001-CMF. This guidebook, adopted by the Energy Commission at its Business Meeting on January 27, 2010, describes the requirements to receive incentives for constructing energy efficient, solar homes under the NSHP.
The New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) is part of a comprehensive statewide solar program known as the California [...]
Distributed Renewable Energy Finance and Policy Toolkit
Prepared by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance, December 2009.
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 [...]
CPUC’s California Solar Initiative – October Staff Progress Report
By the California Public Commission’s Energy Division Staff. October 2009.
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 [...]
Connecticut Solar Lease Program
State Solar Spotlight: October 2009
Connecticut Solar Lease Program
The groundbreaking introduction of a state-sponsored solar leasing program has drawn national attention and an onslaught of additional leasing programs and financing options have developed as a result. The Connecticut Solar Lease Program is a Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) initiative that was begun in 2008 and designed to [...]
Smart Solar Marketing Strategies
by Lyn Rosoff, SmartPower and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy Group. August 2009.
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 [...]
Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments
Prepared by Hannah Muller of U.S. DOE and Sarah Truitt of SENTECH, Inc. for DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program. July 2009.
The U.S. Department of Energy developed this comprehensive resource to assist local governments and stakeholders in building sustainable local solar markets. The guide introduces a range of policy and program options that have been successfully [...]
Solar Photovoltaic Financing: Residential Sector Deployment
NREL Technical Report: NREL/TP-6A2-44853. By Jason Coughlin and Karlynn Cory. March 2009.
This report examines incentives available to reduce the cost of owning and operating a PV system and creative ways to combine them into a comprehensive financial package for residential PV systems. This report explains new financing mechanisms such as solar leases, residential power purchase [...]
CESA Webinar on Effective State Clean Energy Programs
[ April 2, 2009; 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. ] CESA webinar, How to Design an Effective Clean Energy Program: A Blueprint for Success, Thursday, April 2, 2009.
Hear from leading state clean energy program managers on best practices for advancing renewable energy with new stimulus funding. The webinar is free, but registration is required. Visit the CESA website for presentations and briefing reports. An audio recording of [...]
New Jersey BPU Clean Energy Office’s Solar REC Program
New Jersey’s Solar Transition to a Market-based Solar Financing Program
New Jersey’s clean energy goal is simply stated to be 20% by 2020. More specifically, the state hopes to achieve 20 percent reduction in GHG by 2020; 20 percent reduction in energy use by 2020, 20 percent use [...]
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 [...]