Distributed Renewable Energy Operating Impacts and Valuation Study

APPENDIX B — CALIFORNIA PV PROGRAM
The analysis of trends associated with PV programs in the state of California focuses primarily
on the incentive programs that have been administered by the three investor-owned utilities
(Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric). This
data has been analyzed to determine if it provides insight into PV programs and PV installation
characteristics such as number of systems installed by year, system sizes, and system costs.
Ideally, the data will provide insight into the PV market based on system applications such as
residential, office buildings, schools, etc.
Since 1998, the incentives that have been available for customers of the three investor-owned
utilities have transitioned through several programs. From 1998 through 2007 incentives were
available through the Emerging Renewable Program (ERP). In 2002 a new program that focuses
on generation technologies for commercial customers was established and was known as the Self
Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). In 2006, the state established the California Solar
Initiative (CSI) and the New Solar Home Partnership (NSHP). Both the ERP and SGIP
discontinued accepting new applications for PV projects starting on December 31, 2006.
Data sets available on the programs provide data on system locations (city and zip code), utility
program administrator, system capacity, installed system cost, level of incentive, collector
manufacture, inverter manufacturer, date the application was received, and the date that the
incentive was paid. The data sets do not provide any information on customer class (i.e.
residential, commercial, industrial). As a result, the data is useful for looking at trends in the
number of installations, system sizes and installed system costs on a program level basis. The
data is not useful to look at the characteristics of the target PV customer or the trends associated
with various applications or building types where PV is being installed.
There is no intention to compare direct numbers of system installations or total installed capacity
to the potential for Arizona as the two markets have significant differences in number of
customers, overall demand, and electric consumption patterns.
Note that information in this appendix is provided for the purposes described above. There is no
intention to compare direct numbers of system installations or total installed capacity to the
potential for Arizona as the two markets have significant differences in number of customers,
overall demand, and electric consumption patterns.
B.1 Number of Systems Installed
The following table presents an overview of the number of systems installed in California from
1998 through 2007. The data shows that the number of installations increases in nearly every
year (there was a slight decrease in 2005). In 2007, more than 8,000 PV systems were installed
and at the end of 2007 the total number of systems installed was 30,121. Note this data does not
represent the total for the state as it only focuses on the programs administered by the investor-
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Arizona Public Service | Distributed Renewable Energy Operating Impacts & Valuation Study