California

The top 10 US Utilities ranked by solar capacity additions installed 561 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity in 2010 – demonstrating 100% growth over 2009, according to the Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) Top 10 Utility Solar Rankings released recently. SEPA’s annual top 10 list ranks utilities by solar megawatts added as well as solar watts-per-customer. It provides great insight into the trends of solar deployment across the country.For the first time ever, 63% of the new solar capacity added by utilities in the US came from utilities outside California. Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG & E) maintained it leadership status by adding 157 MW of solar in 2010. However, Florida Power & Light (FP & L) and New Jersey’s Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE & G) raced to grab the number 2 and 3 spots with 87 MW and 68 MW respectively.

California celebrated a major clean energy milestone yesterday as Governor Brown signed into law a bill that will significantly diversify the state’s energy portfolio. The enacted legislation, which was authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, will increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020 (up from the pre-existing RPS of 20%). This new law is a giant leap forward and sends an encouraging message to the venture capital community that the state remains committed to developing a vibrant renewable energy and clean technology sector.

California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, more commonly referred to as AB 32, is a 2006 landmark piece of legislation aimed at reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions in a manner that is both cost-effective and maximizes the economic benefits to the State. In the past week, however, a group has launched a ballot initiative to suspend the Act in the hopes of getting California’s economy “back on track” and “putting Californians to work”.

California's solar industry scored a significant policy victory with the passage of AB 510, which raises the requirement on the state’s electric utilities to “net meter” customer-sited solar systems to 5% of a utility’s annual peak demand from 2.5%.