California, Hawaii Look to Sun for Energy Plans

One of the biggest obstacles for products drawing on alternative energy is finding a market big enough to bring the cost down of their new technologies to attract the larger more risk-adverse population of consumers. Californians are stepping up to the challenge after committing to invest nearly $3 billion over the next 10 years to aid in the shift to cleaner power.

The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is investing $2.9 billion in solar energy to help bring down the cost of electricity for consumers. The PUC approved the California Solar Initiative earlier this month by a vote of 3 to 1, reports the Los Angeles Times. The 10-year program is designed to help the state move toward a cleaner energy future through reliance on solar energy. According to PUC, the goal is increase the amount of installed solar capacity on rooftops in the state by 3,000 megawatts by 2017.

The initiative includes an additional amount of up to 5 percent of the annual budget for potential research, development and demonstration activities with an emphasis on solar and solar-related technologies. Additional provisions include:

• $2.9 billion over a 10-year period in rebates that will decline steadily over that same time frame. Funds will come from electric and gas distribution customers of investor-owned utilities and will initially go toward the installation of solar photovoltaics.
• The California Energy Commission will oversee one component of the program to focus on builders and developers of new housing to encourage solar installations in the residential construction market. PUC will oversee the remainder and majority of the initiative, which will cover existing residential housing as well as existing and new commercial and industrial properties.
• A requirement to set aside 10 percent of program funding for low-income customers and affordable housing installations;
• A requirement that solar incentive payments be made not just for installed capacity, but also with an emphasis on performance and output of the solar system installed to ensure that investments are delivering clean energy as promised; and,
• All facilities that receive an incentive must undergo an energy efficiency audit to identify more cost-effective energy efficiency investment options at the building.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supports the plan, as it meets his goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, said Commissioner Dian Grueneich in a press release. Opponents say the initiative is bad policy and an expensive technology gamble for ratepayers already facing high electricity bills, a Los Angeles Times article reports.

As energy costs across the nation continue to soar, other states also are looking at innovative ways of combining natural resources with the latest technology in order to become self-sustaining energy producers.

With Gov. Linda Lingle's unveiling of a comprehensive energy plan, Hawaii also is turning to renewable resources as a way to end over-dependence on imported oil and establish itself as a leader in hydrogen technology. The plan calls for the state to support market-based development of reliable, cost-effective and self-reliant energy. According to the governor's office, the plan will displace the importation of 110 million barrels of crude oil, retain $6.32 billion in the state's economy that would otherwise have been used to purchase oil, and eliminate 49 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions when fully implemented in 2020.

The backbone of the plan draws on ideas from the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum and the Economic Momentum Commission and includes accelerating the development of the state's own renewable energy resources, according to the governor's office. For example, the state's natural assets – year-round sunlight, wind, geothermal, and untapped ocean and agricultural resources – can be turned into renewable energy for electricity and fuels.

Ted Liu, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said Hawaii's combination of abundant renewable resources, high fuel prices, limited geographic area, and recognized expertise in hydrogen R&D make it an ideal location to lead the transition to a renewable energy-to-hydrogen economy.

The plan contains five components with a fact sheet outlining the purpose of the proposal, problems to be encountered, practical effects of the proposal, other states' laws, and laws to be changed. Implementing the plan will cost the state $11.5 million, according to the Associated Press.

For more information on the California Solar Initiative, visit http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/energy/051214_solarincentive.htm. More information on Gov. Lingle's Energy Plan is available at http://gov.state.hi.us/.