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The California Solar Initiative Solar Thermal Program launched January 20th, 2010,

The climate-change fighting, energy efficiency California Statewide solar water heating rebate program, called "CSI-Thermal" seeks to place @200,000 solar water heaters in California in its single family and multi-family program that runs through 2017.

Applications will be accepted April 1, 2010.

The CSI - Thermal program is being developed and is expected to run from April 2010 through 2017. A 30 percent federal tax credit is also available on the installed cost of the system less the rebate.

The goals of the CSI Thermal Program are to:

· Significantly increase the size of the solar water heating market in California by increasing the adoption rate of solar water heating technologies, including achieving:

o Installation of natural gas-displacing systems that displace 585 million therms, equivalent to placing a solar water heater on 200,000 single-family homes;

o Installation of electric-displacing solar water heating systems that displace 275.7 million kilowatt-hours per year of electricity by the end of 2017; and

o Expansion of the market for other solar thermal technologies that displace natural gas and electricity use, in addition to solar water heating.

· Support reductions in the cost of solar water heating systems of at least 16 percent through a program that increases market size and encourages cost reductions through market efficiency and innovation.

· Engage in market facilitation activities to reduce market barriers to solar water heating adoption, such as high permitting costs, lack of access to information, and lack of trained installers.

Eligible Customers for the CSI-Thermal Incentive Program

Eligible customers are gas or electric water heating customers of SDG&E, PG&E and SoCalGas & SoCal Edison. The program will run for 8 years, until December 31, 2017, or until the program funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first.

This rebate program is a four-step declining incentive structure over the life of the program and the rebate is calculated based on the expected energy savings of your solar water heating system. Incentive amounts depend upon your current water heating fuel source (natural gas or electricity).

Residents who heat their water with natural gas may receive a maximum incentive of $1,875.

Residents who heat their water with electricity may receive a maximum incentive of $1,250.

Commercial or multifamily buildings who heat their water with natural gas may receive a maximum incentive of $200,000, while commercial or multifamily buildings who heat their water with electricity may receive a maximum incentive of $100,000.

Eligible SWH Equipment for the CSI-Thermal Program

Solar water heating ( SWH) equipment must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation ( SRCC). SRCC OG-300 certified equipment must be installed on single-family homes and SRCC OG-100 certified collectors must be installed on multifamily and commercial buildings. At the start of the program, only solar water heating technology will be eligible for the rebate. Other Solar Thermal technologies such as space heating, radiant floor heating, space cooling, etc will not be eligible. We expect that those technologies may be introduced into the rebate program at a later date.

Administration: PG&E, SoCalGas, Edison and California Center for Sustainable Energy

The CSI Thermal Program will be administered by PG&E, Edison, SoCalGas, and by the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) in the SDG&E territory.

PG&E and SDG&E, in coordination CCSE, will disburse incentives to both electric and natural gas ratepayers who install eligible solar water heating systems in their territories.

Edison will disburse incentives through the CSI Thermal Program to customers who install electric displacing solar water heating systems. SoCalGas will disburse incentives to customers in its territory who install natural gas displacing solar water heating systems.

Incentives are as follows:

Natural Gas Displacing Incentives:

Step	Incentive for Average Residential Solar Water Heating System	Incentive per Therm Displaced
1	$1,500	$12.82
2	$1,200	$10.26
3	$900	$7.69
4	$550	$4.70

· Incentives are paid up-front based on estimated first year therms displaced.

· Incentives decline in four steps based on program participation.

· Forty percent of the incentive budget is reserved for single-family residential systems; 60 percent for commercial and multifamily systems.

Electric Displacing Incentives:

Step Level	Electric Displacing Incentive ($/kWh)	Incentive for Average Residential System
1	0.37	$1,010
2	0.30	$820
3	0.22	$600
4	0.14	$380

· Incentives paid up-front based on estimated first year kWh displacement.

Contactor Participation Requirements

The requirements for contractor participation are currently being developed. We expect that contractors will need to attend a training workshop to learn about the application process, program guidelines and SWH installation techniques. We may also ask for verification of liability insurance, workman's compensation and auto insurance coverage. This requirement will be determined by March 1, 2010.

Contractors Submit Paperwork

Contractors will be responsible for submitting the rebate applications. The Program Administrators (PG&E, SoCal Edison, SoCalGas and the California Center for Sustainable Energy) are currently developing the application process and creating an appropriate online application database.

Installation Team Training

Some great technical resources posted in our "Contractors Corner." We recommend you become very familiar with the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation installation guidelines (www.solar-rating.org). It is also strongly encouraged for you to seek training from SWH equipment manufacturers.

The California Public Utilities Commission

CPUC will be holding public workshops in the first quarter of 2010 to discuss the following: system sizing requirements, development of an online incentive calculation tool that estimates energy savings, development of energy-efficiency requirements and metering requirements. Your input is welcome and encouraged! Refer to the CPUC website for postings on workshop details.

CSI Program Calendar

Do I have to wait until April 1, 2010, to sell and install SWH systems in order to receive the incentive? No. The CSI-Thermal Program will provide a rebate to projects that meet the program requirements and were installed after July 15, 2009. You will have to wait until April 1, 2010, to apply for the rebate for single-family projects and May 1, 2010, for multifamily and commercial projects.

San Diego Solar Water Heating Pilot Program

As part of the California Solar Initiative, the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program (SWHPP) provides incentives to business and customers who install qualifying solar water heating systems. The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is administering the program.  CCSE is authorized to provide $1.5 million in rate payer funds as incentives for the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program. These incentives will go to qualified, licensed contractors to promote the installation of clean, renewable solar water heating systems.

How can I learn more about the CSI Program?

If you are a SDG&E electric customer seeking to retrofit your current water heating system, contact the California Center for Sustainable Energy for an informational packet and list of registered installers. You may contact them directly for additional details: swh@energycenter.org

As of January 20th, 2010, the California Solar Initiative Solar Thermal Program is underway. 

A new California Statewide solar water heating rebate program, called CSI-Thermal applications will be accepted April 1, 2010.

The CSI-Thermal program is currently being developed and is expected to run from April 2010 through 2017. A 30 percent federal tax credit is also available on the installed cost of the system less the rebate.

Solar water heating ( SWH) systems reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve fossil fuel resources, while cutting energy use and saving money on utility bills. Systems can offset up to 75% of the natural gas, electricity or propane used by your current water heater. SWH systems work to supplement the existing water heater - you do not need to replace or remove it.

SWH systems preheat the water used in a home or business (such as showers, dishwashers or sinks) and can help protect consumers against future gas and electricity shortages, as well as price increases. They help preserve the environment by eliminating carbon dioxide emissions and reducing harmful pollutants. For more information visit the Solar Water Heating Resources.

Insurance requirements as part of interconnection procedures continue to be an area of debate among utilities, legislatures and renewable energy cogeneration operators.

Utilities and regulators often start from the view that, if a customer's generator damages the grid, then, as a matter of fairness, the customer generator should pay for the damage.

From a cost causation standpoint, this view has intuitive appeal on fairness grounds: ratepayers should not bear the burden for damage to the utility grid caused by customer generation.

However, with over 70,000 solar arrays interconnected across the United States, the authors at the IREC are not aware of any case of line worker injury or significant utility property damage attributable to solar energy systems.

Property Owners Insurance..."Green Insurance?"

Moreover, solar arrays are expensive assets that are almost always covered under a property owner's insurance which would typically provide protection if damage or injury occurs.

Because of this, prohibiting additional insurance requirements in order to interconnect appears to have little practical cost impact for utility ratepayers, but requiring additional insurance does add cost for the system owner.

Virginia has recently implemented interconnection procedures which require customer-generators to carry insurance, but the amounts are no more than what property owners would generally carry:

• systems under 10 kW must carry $100,000,
• systems between 10 kW and 500 kW must carry $300,000, and
• systems between 500 kW and 2 MW must carry $2,000,000.

The IREC participates in state and municipal level workshops, proceedings, and rulemakings focused on net metering, interconnection, and financing of distributed renewable energy technologies.

Net Metering

Twenty-two states and DC changed or adopted net metering laws/regulations in 2009.

New in 2009?  Kansas and Nebraska established new net-metering policies, raising the national state total to 42.

Old news? Many states have seriously flawed rules that inhibit market growth.

According to the IREC, changes implemented in the other states address increasingly complex policy issues, including

• the treatment of net excess generation
• renewable energy credit (REC) ownership
• community-owned systems
• third-party ownership

Net metering rules by state, using the grades applied in Freeing the Grid 2009, are available at
www.newenergychoices.org.

"Super-sized" net metering (i.e., a 1-MW or greater individual systems capacity limit for at least one customer type) now exists in 20 states.

The most important issue for net metering continues to be the treatment of energy delivered to the electric grid.

The touchstone of the debate centers invariably on concerns over the potential for inter-class subsidies when implementing or expanding net metering programs. This issue was front and center in several states including California due to legislative efforts to expand the aggregate program cap for net-metered systems and the California commission's consideration and ultimate adoption of a cost-benefit methodology for assessing the costs and benefits of distributed generation including net metered systems.

Utilities typically view any framework which values net metered excess generation above avoided costs rates as an undue subsidy to customer-generators from non-participating ratepayers.

Many utilities continue to hold this view despite the ever mounting research finding that the benefits of renewable distributed generation justify valuing net metered excess generation from renewable resources well above a utility's typical avoided cost of generation.

Concerns over the potential for inter-class subsidies underpin many decisions legislatures or state utility commissions make in placing arbitrary caps on the aggregate capacity of net metered systems allowed to participate in state net metering programs.
 

Interconnection Standards

Interconnection standards continue to serve as an essential component of state renewable energy policy. Seven states and Puerto Rico improved interconnection standards over the last year.

For a comprehensive description of IREC's positions on net metering and interconnection issues, see IREC's newly revised model procedures and other documents on IREC's website. For a thorough analysis of the procedures developed in the states in which IREC was active in the past year, see www.dsireusa.org.

According to the IREC, "federal legislation coupled with state budget problems have spurred solar policy and programmatic changes for direct financial incentives at the state level, but these changes have been far from uniform."

Between September 2008 and September 2009, approximately 40 new solar programs have
been created in 19 states. Of these programs, 10 are state programs.

Approximately 16 programs in 14 states increased funding for solar programs over the past year. Thirteen of these programs are state programs; the others are utility or local government
programs. In total, eight programs in 12 states increased the incentive level for individual systems.

A handful of states did reduce program budgets or incentive levels. Typically, states or utilities adjusted the individual incentive level or cap instead of reducing the overall program budget. Incentive levels in 10 states were reduced, with six of the incentive reductions occurring at the state level. Colorado, Illinois and Vermont were the only three states that lowered overall
program budgets during the past year, with the reductions in program funding in Illinois and
Vermont resulting from a re-appropriation of public benefits funds to fill state budget gaps.

Performance Based Incentives (PBIs)

As the U.S. solar market matures, states and utilities have begun shifting away from simple
rebate programs for photovoltaics (PV) and towards production- or performance-based incentives (PBIs).  15 PBIs were created, and the caps or rates for seven PBIs changed.
There are 39 production-based incentives in 28 states, with 14 production incentives for solar (excluding feed-in tariffs), 11 feed-in tariffs (FITs), and 14 REC-purchase programs (through
which RECs are purchased separately from electricity). Most - but not all - PBIs involve the
transfer of RECs from the generator to the utility.

SOURCE:  2009 Annual Report of IREC

Manual labor has had its era of scorn!  But now with the economy tanking and the simplicities of life taking on new meaning -- those basics of food, shelter and contentment -- well, the human factor is getting a new look.

Manual tools like can openers and a simple cutting board and skillet.  Manual tools like hammers and saws.  Manual tools like pen and paper or a phone.  Manual tools like a hug and a smile.

We overlook these simple sources of energy...and resulting benefits.

But human energy comes from intent combined with a goal and some elbow grease...and the results are of a more human scale than when strained through complex certification programs and packaging and airports. 

Life has a lot of minutia to it.  Breathing.  Three meals a day.  Sleep.  Smiles.  And relationships that are often messy.  But that's the stuff of life.  The energy of life.  And yes, human energy is even more precious than petroleum or solar cells or biogas or LEDs.

Human energy makes the adventure of playing with all those other forms of energy into the adventure that passes survival and brings us a life of style!  

California is a huge state and economy. When we sneeze, the country catches cold :-) and when our economy falters, it affects not only a lot of Californians, but a lot of Americans.

California's economy has been struggling for a number of years -- like the rest of the country is experiencing in 2009 -- and part of the reason is that we have been importing so much energy to support our car-culture and our businesses. When we look at the economics of sustainability, energy strategy ranks near the top of the list of effectiveness factors.

Energy affects jobs. Energy affects state taxes...and state budgets.

Energy affects livability and family budgets.

Global Warming and Jobs...NRDC's two page summary of the reason and way to bring our energy expenditures back home and reinvest in California's future.

Every year, Californians send about $30 billion out of the state to purchase fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, the primary sources of the state's global warming pollution. On average, that means that every California household sends $2,500 directly out of the state every year. Reducing global warming pollution with solutions such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart growth, and improved transit will bring that money back home to reinvest in our communities.

Pricing programs give consumers clean power choices

April 22, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) annual ranking of leading utility green power programs provides insights into how consumers change their power-use behaviors.

Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as solar and wind. More than 800 utilities across the United States offer these programs.

Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops a Top 10 ranking of utility programs in the following categories:

• total sales of renewable energy to program participants
• total number of customer participants
• customer participation rate, green power sales as a percentage of
• total utility retail electricity sales
• the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources.

More info about Utility Green Energy Programs

Energy consumption is one of six factors incorporated into the tally of Forbes magazines's "Greenest States", closely linked to other "green" standards, including air quality and carbon dioxide emissions.

Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, summarized the situation in a recent presentation to Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees: "The South is the Gobi Desert of energy efficiency."

Energy Efficiency Potential Provides Greatest Savings

While bioenergy, nuclear and other expanding energy options are important, "the potential of energy efficiency is probably greater than any other resource." She views the confluence of record prices for oil and increasing anxiety over carbon emissions as a "perfect storm" that makes the attitude of both the market and the public ripe for fundamental change.

Recognizing these trends, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are developing an array of energy-efficient appliances, testing energy-saving building materials and refining a zero-energy home that literally will produce more energy than it consumes.

As world energy demand collides with the growing public desire for a carbon-constrained environment, ORNL increasingly is recognized as a source of expertise for cities, states and utilities looking to trim bulging energy waistlines. The Tennessee Valley Authority has joined state and local government as well as non-profit energy efficiency advocate groups in asking the Laboratory to provide input for policy, incentives and technologies to transform the desert of consumption into an oasis of energy efficiency.

Demonstrating a renewed commitment to energy efficiency, the TVA board recently named Joe Hoagland, former senior advisor to TVA President Tom Kilgore, to a newly created post of vice president for energy efficiency and demand response. Hoagland's first task is to determine how much energy savings TVA needs to achieve in order to meet growing energy demands over the next 20 years.

Times have clearly changed. "In order to meet the goals of low cost and reliability, energy efficiency and demand response are now tools as much as our assets that generate electricity," Hoagland says, adding that TVA's strategy also incorporates environmental concerns. "A megawatt not produced is a green megawatt.

"A megawatt not produced is a green megawatt."

When Hoagland came to his new post last fall, he was asked to determine what was needed to generate 1,200 megawatts of energy savings, or the equivalent of one large nuclear or coal-fired power plant, by 2013. "As we begin to understand the situation better, I'm not sure that is going to be enough. I expect that we will need to cut back more, much more," he says.

Meeting the challenge will require TVA to adopt a combination of tactics, including new technologies, rate restructuring, education and customer incentives to achieve the required savings. The agency has signed a memorandum of understanding with ORNL as a first step in what Hoagland envisions as a growing, and necessary, partnership with the Laboratory.

"ORNL has a broad expertise in energy efficient technologies to help us do things better," he says. Oak Ridge researchers have unique experience in

• designing zero-energy homes,
  
• creative construction techniques,
  
• new insulation technologies and
  
• a sophisticated set of energy efficiency standards.
  

If these initiatives prove successful, the potential impact is enormous. ORNL researchers believe that fully one-half of the South's anticipated increase in energy demand can be met through energy efficiency.

Read more about ORNL's Southern Energy Efficiency Initiatives

THE PROBLEM:  Reduce use and cost of expensive energy!

PASSIVE SOLAR SOLUTIONS -- In our focus on energy and renewable sources of energy -- and climate change, etc.  we sometimes forget the simplest solutions to the problems of everyday living and working.  The sun!

The sun provides a wide variety of solutions to everyday challenges and problems.  Bright sun during the day wakes us up and energizes us.  It gives us vitamin D directly -- and other foods through plants and animals.  It provides light.  It provides warmth...of air, water and soil.  Sunlight also helps stir breezes. 

In most U.S. climates, passive solar design techniques can significantly reduce heating requirements for residential and small commercial buildings.  "Passive" means that no moving part, no photovoltaic cells, etc. are needed.  You just provide for  the static use of sunlight with things like windows, shades and drapes, rock floors, and overhangs.

All of these attributes of sunshine can be applied to buildings and landscapes to create beautiful spaces that  provide comfortable work and living space.

WINDOWS positioned, shaped and sized for practical efficiency, provide light and ventilation.

SOLAR TUBES siphon light down from the roof into dark corners, hallways, attics, and rooms.

OVERHANGS on the South side of a building manages light -- rooms receive low, horizontal beams during the winter months, and those  overhead  beams of summer are  shaded to  light the room, but keep the heat out.

THERMAL MASS can store the heat of sunlight during the day to be released at night.

COLORS  -- LIGHT COLORS can be  used to  reflect  light, and DARK COLORS to absorb it and  capture heat.

Passive Solar Design of buildings is an age-old practice.  Today's architects and engineers are refining passive solar techniques to maximize efficiency and reduce problems such as too much, or too little light, leaks and managing storage of the energy.

The US Department of Energy's website for  Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy provides a Building Toolbox for Passive Solar Design.  Check out the topics including:

• Passive Solar Heating
• Passive Solar Cooling
• Thermal Storage
• Daylighting

New construction offers the greatest opportunity for incorporating passive solar design, but any renovation or addition to a building envelope also offers opportunities for integration of passive methods. It is important to include passive solar as early as possible in the site planning and design process, or when the addition or building is first conceived.