Background

In Decision (D.) 10-01-022, the Commission established the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal program, which pays incentives to solar water heating (SWH) systems that displace gas water heating and electric water heating. The CSI Thermal program was established pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 1470 (Stats. 2007, Ch. 536), which contains direction to the Commission in regards to the program budget, design, and eligibility criteria.

Among other aspects of the legislation, AB 1470 added Pub. Util. Code § 2864,¹ which requires the Commission, in consultation with the California Energy Commission, to establish eligibility criteria for SWH systems that receive incentives through the CSI Thermal program. Specifically, the section states that eligibility criteria shall include:

Design, installation, and energy output or displacement standards. To be eligible for rebate funding, a residential [SWH] system shall, at a minimum, have a [Solar Rating and Certification Corporation, or SRCC]² OG-300 Solar Water Heating System Certification. Solar collectors used in systems for multifamily residential, commercial, or industrial water heating shall, at a minimum, have a SRCC OG-100 Solar Water Heating System Certification. (Section 2864(a)(1).)

D.10-01-022 noted this requirement in AB 1470 and stated "we will authorize SWH incentives only for electric and gas-displacing SWH systems that have Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) certification." (D.10-01-022 at 27.) Thus, the decision incorporated the SRCC certification requirement in the adopted CSI Thermal Program. (Id., Appendix A at 4.)

¹ All statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code, unless otherwise noted.

² SRCC is defined in Section 2861(i).