California report recommends cessation of incentives for solar PV capacity
SACRAMENTO, California, USA, August 15, 2007. The state of California should stop paying incentives for solar systems based on the capacity of PV panels, recommends a staff report prepared for the California Energy Commission.
“Incentives should be paid either through an actual or an expected performance based incentive mechanism,” concludes the 65-page ‘Eligibility Criteria & Conditions for Incentives for Solar Energy Systems.’ The staff report recommends the CSI approach for determining what solar energy systems are paid incentives under an actual performance based incentives approach, and recommends the NSHP approach for determination of expected performance based incentives.
The report was prepared to comply with Senate Bill 1 (SB1) which requires the CEC to establish eligibility criteria, conditions for incentives and equipment rating standards for all ratepayer-funded solar energy system programs in the state. Programs implemented by the Public Utilities Commission and by local utilities should receive ratepayer-funded incentives for “high quality solar energy systems with maximum system performance to promote the highest energy production per ratepayer dollar.”
Other conditions for incentives include “optimal system performance during periods of peak demand, and appropriate energy efficiency improvements in the new and existing home or commercial structure where the solar energy system is installed.”
The report addresses those conditions, as well as contemplated eligibility criteria and rating standards, in advance of a workshop to solicit comments. The report also recommends that the test requirements developed under the NSHP for PV modules be used for all modules and that the existing test protocol in use to list eligible inverters be continued, “enabling the use of detailed performance curves for determining expected system performance rather than just the single weighted inverter efficiency numbers.”
Staff recommends that performance meter requirements “be used to ensure the accuracy and quality of meters” and recommends that SB 1 expected performance based incentives be based on the NSHP PV Calculator, which uses an hourly calculation engine to determine “expected system performance based on detailed tested and certified module and inverter performance characteristics to estimate performance in each hour.” The report also recommends installation standards which encourage a purposeful avoidance of shading and that “a sample of systems be required to have third party field verification for visually checking components, installation characteristics and shading, and verifying performance using the NSHP protocol.”
Installers should carry out the field verification protocol for each job to avoid problems, and the report contains numerous recommendations for energy efficiency upgrades in residential and commercial buildings prior to the installation of solar systems.
“Senate Bill 1 is the culmination of the Governor's Million Solar Roofs Initiative” and the CEC says the principles to determine eligibility criteria for incentives include energy efficiency improvements as a “primary consideration in deploying photovoltaics.” To participate in the PV program, new buildings should be required to exceed current standards, while existing buildings should be required to improve their efficiency.
“Combining energy efficiency measures with PV will ensure proper sizing of PV systems, contribute to the state's efficiency goals, and provide maximum benefits to PV purchasers and electricity consumers,” it explains. “Rational targeting of PV deployment to achieve the greatest cost benefit should be a central feature of a large-scale solar program. Solar installations should be targeted to climate zones with high peak demands for air conditioning and where solar systems can provide the most benefit.”
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