The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the U.S., is reportedly ready to reintroduce a solar incentive program (SIP) it abruptly dropped in April, ostensibly to address issues like lack of funding, a backlog of more than 500 applications, some safety concerns, and possible misrepresentations by solar installers.
The suspension, effective April 8th, was programmed to run a minimum of 90 days, or until issues were resolved, allowing the municipal utility to review its protocols and revise the program as, and if, needed. Previously, in November of 2010, the agency reduced its rebates in what it described as an effort to sustain the program’s financial base.
After a review and a June 28th public comment meeting, the agency announced it is stepping back into the solar incentive ring. It plans another public comment session and workshop on July 14th that will cover both the SIP and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) solar programs.
LADWP’s solar incentive program will reportedly double the amount of funding for the next three years, thus reflecting payout rates similar to those for the California Solar Initiative (funded through three California public utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric, or PG&E, Southern California Edison or SCE, and San Diego Gas & Electric, or SDG&E.
This doubling, from $30 million to $60 million, is a result of revenue from LADWP bond sales, and – though less than rebates paid by some California municipal utilities, will still be higher than those paid by Southern California Edison (SCE). According to one report, SCE pays $1.50 per watt (in another it’s quoted as $1.55 per watt) during the current Step 5 (dropping to $1.10 watt in Step 6).
Revised SIP procedures include having contractors apply for a permit for the solar installation before submitting the paperwork for a rebate. The LADWP also promises an expedited inspection procedure to speed the interval before net metering commences.
The agency’s FiT program, aligned with the state of California’s SB 32 legislation passed in 2009, was originally designed to foster the installation of 75 megawatts of distributed renewable solar energy from solar projects in the 1.5 to 3 megawatt size.
Such installations would provide electricity which the utility could purchase under a power purchase agreement, or PPA. They would also provide the installer with federal tax credits, either in the form of a 30-percent tax rebate or a cash grant. This applies to any solar facility placed in service before Dec. 31, 2016.
The LADWP plans a public workshop on July 14th to get input on both the SIP and FiT programs, which must be submitted to the agency’s board for approval. After an expected review of both in August, the LADWP hopes to restart its SIP program in November. The utility originally published a restart date of July 1, 2011.
Jeanne Roberts is a freelance writer on environment and sustainability issues. In her previous life, she worked as both a reporter and a communications specialist for a major public utility. Her most recent book, Green Your Home, approaches environmentalism from a consumer’s perspective.
Any opinion contained in this article is solely that of the writers, and does not necessarily shapes or reflect the editorial opinions of Energy Boom.
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