CSI—What’s New

PG&E Hosts CSI RD&D Program Strategy Workshop

The CPUC and the CSI Program Administrators are offering up to $15 million in grant funding for Research, Demonstration and Deployment (RD&D) projects to help achieve CSI's goal of a sustainable solar industry by 2016.

PG&E will be hosting an RD&D Program Strategy Workshop to seek stakeholder input on the activities and approaches used in addressing the goals and objectives of the adopted CSI Solar RD&D Program.

Date/Time:November 18, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Venue:PG&E's Pacific Energy Center
Green Room
851 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Note:This event will be available as a webinar as well.
If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP to Jessica Tellez at JLTG@pge.com

Additionally, there will be a pre-bid webinar held on the 18th from 10:00am –12:00pm to review the second RD&D solicitation focused on improving solar production technologies and innovative business models.

For any questions, please contact Jessica Tellez at JLTG@pge.com.

Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) Program Update

As of October 26, 2009, the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing Program has received applications for more than the allotted $32.9M in Track 1 and all new applications will be placed on a Wait List and funded through Track 1 attrition.

In addition, please let us know if you have any reserved applications that are no longer proceeding and need to be cancelled. If you have any questions, contact us at 415-973-1400 or solar@pge.com.

Upcoming Permitting Symposiums Hosted by PG&E and Solar America Cities – Sonoma County and Berkeley

Register today for Solar Sonoma County and PG&E Permitting Forum

PG&E is taking action to facilitate solutions to the permitting process for photovoltaic systems. With the support and partnership of Solar Sonoma County, this Forum will provide an opportunity to get updated on recent progress by a panel of industry leaders from various jurisdictions and have a dialogue on best practices and constraints to adopting best practices, simplifying forms and review processes, adopting flat fees and generally increasing efficiencies.

Target Audience:City Planners, Solar Contractors, Solar Incentive Program Administrators, End-Users, Architects, etc.
Time:November 10, 9am – 12pm (Lunch will be provided)
Venue:Fountain Grove Inn
Camelot Room
101 Fountain Grove Parkway
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
RSVP and Cost:There is no cost to attend this forum, although capacity is limited – registration is required to attend. Please RSVP with Marty Roberts at marty@solarsonomacounty.org

Note: Another symposium is planned for early December and will take place in the city of Berkeley. More information will follow closer to the date.

If you have any questions please contact Lisa Shell at L1SB@pge.com.

Train the Solar Trainer - November 7th "Solar Champion" Class

Seeking Solar Champions! PG&E and the San Francisco Department of the Environment is offering a no-cost Solar Basics course on November 7th which will provide you with the tools and information you need to offer a solar workshop in your respective community. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

California Solar Initiative Public Forum

The next California Solar Initiative Public Forum will be held on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009, 6pm – 8.30pm at the Anaheim Convention Center. The forum will be held in conjunction with Solar Power International 2009. For more details and information about the Public Forum please click here.

Permitting & Inspecting Code-Compliant Photovoltaic Installations Seminar - October 3, 2009

PGE in collaboration with the Peninsula, East Bay, Monterey ICC & Northern California IAEI Chapters will be conducting a full day seminar on 'Permitting and Inspecting Code-Compliant Photovoltaic Installations'.

The purpose of this workshop is to help the audience better understand the NEC requirements for designing and installing PV Systems. The workshop is designed for building inspectors, plan checkers, fire officials, PV Installers, designers, engineers, and architects who wish to stay on top of the latest code compliance issues that help facilitate safe and long-lasting PV systems.

For more information and to sign up, please view the attached flyer (PDF, 67 KB).

California Energy Commission's Senate Bill 1 Guidelines Approved, Taking Effect July 1

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Senate Bill (SB) 1 guidelines on May 18, setting into motion new CSI program requirements to take effect on July 1, 2009. These requirements include, but are not limited to a new energy efficiency agreement and field inspection protocol, as well as a requirement that PV modules be tested and approved with the CEC's new testing requirements, per the SB 1 guidelines. Updated Incentive Claim Form requirements are only required if the Reservation Request Form was received on or after July 1st, 2009.

Please note that PG&E will accept applications with modules on the old list if received on or before June 30th. Projects tied to these applications have the ability to increase or decrease their module types. However, beginning on July 1st, any changed modules must be listed on the new list as well as all modules tied to new applications.

To ensure the solar community has a clear understanding of the new requirements stemming from the CEC guidelines, PG&E is holding three webinars on June 15, 22 and 29. Please see solar classes for more details. No registration is required.The slide presentation utilized during this webinar can be found here (PDF, 367 KB).

The new CEC guidelines can be found in the updated California Solar Initiative Program Handbook.

National Solar Rankings by Utility - PG&E Takes Top Honors

The Solar Electric Power Association's annual Rankings report summarizes the solar industry's integration of solar electricity into the grid on both an annual and a cumulative basis. For PG&E's solar integration efforts in 2008, PG&E is listed as the No. 1 utility in the following categories: (1) Total Solar MW, (2) Solar MW - Customer-side of the Meter and (3) Solar MW - Utility-side of the Meter. For our efforts through 2008, we're ranked No. #2, #1 and #3 for the same categories, respectively.

These rankings are based on our aggressive contracting for solar generation as well as the number and capacity of customer-side interconnections for new solar systems. You can view the entire report at the Solar Electric Power website.

SolarTech/CalSEIA Summit: Accelerating the Solar Economy - May 6th and 7th

On May 6th and 7th, SolarTech and CalSEIA, in partnership with PG&E and other industry sponsors, invite you to the first annual Solar Summit - "Accelerating the Solar Economy." The focus of the Summit is "collaboration." Participants will define actions that will lead to reduced system costs and cycle times for residential and commercial solar installations with an ultimate goal of substantially accelerating the adoption of solar and stimulating market growth. Guests will be encouraged to join industry thought leadership to discuss and shape future standards and foster business opportunities.

Fong Wan, PG&E's Senior Vice President of Energy Procurement spoke at the morning keynote session on PG&E's solar leadership. The presentation utilized can be found here (PDF, 943 KB).

Please visit SolarTech website for location, agenda and registration information.

PG&E and the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing Program

On October 16, the CPUC issued Decision 081036, creating the $108M Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) Program within the California Solar Initiative. MASH will provide higher incentives to offset the project costs of installing solar on multifamily affordable housing buildings in California. The MASH Program is currently in the design and development phase with an expected launch in the first or second quarter of 2009. Please continue to check here and Go Solar California for updates on the MASH Program.

Please see the links and information below about industry goings-on that we think are important including current events, upcoming conferences, and trainings and educational opportunities happening soon.

Each quarter, PG&E contributes to the California Solar Initiative Staff Progress Report (PDF, 22.4 KB). The Report is a comprehensive document describing the recent progress on CSI.

Other Solar Electric Generating Technologies

Beginning October 1, 2008, other solar electric generating technologies may apply for CSI incentives. Examples of other solar electric generating technologies include concentrating photovoltaics, parabolic trough systems, and "power tower" technologies. Incentives for other solar electric generating technologies will initially be performance-based.

In accordance with CSI requirements, products are required to provide a full safety certification with follow-up service or Listing from a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) to be eligible for the CSI incentive. Only one other solar electric generating technology is certified at this time; manufacturers are encouraged to certify their systems for CSI eligibility. Systems can also become eligible by being added to the California Energy Commission list of eligible solar electric equipment. Additional information and forms for other solar electric generating technologies are available.

Other News

Contact Us

E-mail
solar@pge.com

Phone
Solar Customer Service Center 1-877-743-4112
Solar Hotline 415-973-3480 (solar application-related questions)

Mailing Address
PG&E Solar and Customer Generation - CSI
PO Box 7433
San Francisco, CA 94120

Street Address (for overnight deliveries)
PG&E Solar and Customer Generation - CSI
245 Market St., MC N7R
San Francisco, CA 94105-1797

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