2005 AGN MAR 15 I15 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

CITY OF COLTON Item #15 AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF March 15, 2005 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Jeannette Olko, Electric Utility General Manager SUBJECT: Adopt and Approve a Solar Electric Incentive Program DATE: March 7, 2005 BACKGROUND: Photovoltaic (PV) systems tum sunlight into electricity using solid state equipment. PV systems promote energy self reliance and independence, stabilize long term energy prices, reduce fossil -fuel and natural gas price risk, ensure self reliable supply, offset peak load demand, and diversify our state wide energy portfolio. PV systems produce electricity at a fixed cost and after the system is paid off the energy is essentially free. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The California Energy Commission has been providing customers of California's investor owned utilities (IOU) with incentive funds for the installation of PV systems since 1998. The incentive is $4.50 per Watt for larger installations and has been cut to $3.50 per Watt for systems less than IOKW. The funds available for Solar electric incentive programs from the Energy Commission are limited to areas served by the investor owned utilities because the funds are collected from Public Benefits charges collected from the ratepayers of the IOUs. Many public power utilities are providing incentives for customers to install PV systems. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Los Angeles Water and Power, Imperial Irrigation District, Anaheim, Riverside, Burbank, Glendale, Redding, Roseville and Palo Alto provide incentives ranging from $2.00 to $6.00 per installed Watt. Based on traditional and average incentives, an incentive of $4.00 per installed Watt, not to exceed 50% of total installed costs is proposed. The proposed maximum incentive of $20,000 for residential customers and $50,000 for commercial customers is a fair amount that would encourage commercial and residential customers to install PV systems. System size would not be allowed to exceed the peak load of the site where they are installed. The customer would have to sign the interconnection agreement that is part of the Customer Service Policy, and a contract agreeing to give the utility the tight to claim the renewable energy production credits and other rights that would protect the utility. The installation would have to comply with California Energy Commission Standards for PV systems and all applicable national, state and local building and safety codes. Colton Electric Utility would have to approve the plans and inspect the completed system to ensure the equipment is installed properly and is working efficiently. The customer must provide a meter socket of a type specified by the utility so the utility can install a meter to measure actual renewable energy production for credit purposes. This policy may be altered in the future to allow Colton Electric Utility to change the level of incentives