Solar power on the rise

The number of Californians installing rooftop solar-energy systems skyrocketed during 2010, according to the annual assessment of the California Solar Initiative (CSI), a program that is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission and gives incentives to public-utility customers to install solar systems on their homes and businesses.

The report covering 2010 shows residents installed 194 megawatts of solar-electricity-generating equipment—47 percent more than the capacity installed in the state in 2009. Other highlights of the CSI report show that many incentives for its Multi-family Affordable Solar Housing program have been allocated and that there is now a waiting list to participate in the program.

The CSI was created in January 2007 in response to the Million Solar Roofs Bill (SB 1) of 2006 and its goal of installing 3,000 megawatts of new solar by 2016.