COM/MP1/jt2 Date of Issuance 9/25/2007
Decision 07-09-042 September 20, 2007
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking Regarding Policies, Procedures and Rules for the California Solar Initiative, the Self-Generation Incentive Program and Other Distributed Generation Issues. |
Rulemaking 06-03-004 (Filed March 2, 2006) |
OPINION ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION AND DEPLOYMENT PLAN FOR THE
CALIFORNIA SOLAR INITIATIVE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
OPINION ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION AND DEPLOYMENT PLAN FOR THE
CALIFORNIA SOLAR INITIATIVE 22
3. The Adopted CSI RD&D Plan 77
3.1. Principles and Objectives 88
3.2. Allocation of CSI RD&D Funds 99
3.2.1. Allocation of Funds to Various RD&D Stages 1010
3.2.2. Allocation of Funds by Target Activities 1515
3.2.3. Allocation of Funds to Program Administration
and Evaluation 1717
3.3. RD&D Program Administration 2020
3.3.1. Structure of RD&D Program Administration 2020
3.3.2. RD&D Program Manager - Functions, Qualifications,
and Selection Process 2121
3.4. Guidelines for Project Solicitation, Selection, Funding,
and Evaluation 2323
3.6. RD&D Program Evaluation 2828
3.7. Intellectual Property Rights and Confidentiality of Information 2929
4. Comments on Proposed Decision 3030
5. Assignment of Proceeding 3131
Appendix A - Adopted CSI RD&D Plan
Appendix B - Display of CSI RD&D Program Functions
Appendix C - Proposed RD&D Plan
OPINION ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION AND DEPLOYMENT PLAN FOR THE
CALIFORNIA SOLAR INITIATIVE
1. Summary
In this decision, we adopt a plan for awarding $50 million in the form of grants to research, development, deployment and demonstration (RD&D) projects under the California Solar Initiative (CSI) program.1 Our Adopted CSI RD&D Plan identifies the goals and objectives of the CSI RD&D program, sets forth allocation guidelines for the RD&D funds, and establishes criteria for solicitation, selection and funding RD&D projects. It also establishes RD&D program administration and RD&D program evaluation. The Adopted CSI RD&D Plan is attached as Appendix A to this order.
We recognize that opportunities exist for collaboration and coordination between our RD&D program and particularly the California Energy Commission (CEC) Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) and the Department of Energy's (DOE) solar research program and that the benefits would be greater if these opportunities are realized in our program. To that end, we design our Adopted CSI RD&D Plan to complement related research activities of these entities in order to maximize synergies among similar programs and to achieve a higher degree of success for our plan and for the funds paid by the ratepayers.2
The overriding principle of the RD&D Plan will be to identify and support projects that would help achieve the CSI goal of 3,000 Megawatts (MWs) of installed solar capacity by 2016, followed by a self-sustaining solar market in the years beyond. In keeping with this principle, the RD&D program will focus on the following:
Improve the economics of solar technologies by reducing technology costs and increasing system performance.
Focus on issues that directly benefit California, and that may not be funded by others.
Fill knowledge gaps to enable successful, wide-scale deployment of solar distributed generation technologies.
Overcome significant barriers to technology adoption.
Take advantage of California's wealth of data from past, current, and future installations to fulfill the above.
Provide bridge funding to help promising solar technologies transition from a pre-commercial state to full commercial viability.
Support efforts to address the integration of distributed solar power into the grid in order to maximize its value to ratepayers.
To establish a robust portfolio of RD&D projects, the funds will be allocated across all stages of RD&D3 with a relatively greater emphasis on demonstration. Research will receive 20% of the RD&D budget while development and deployment will each receive between 5-10%, and demonstration will be given 45-55% of the RD&D budget. RD&D funds will also be allocated across three high priority target activity areas identified in the CEC's PIER RD&D process:
Support the commercialization of new Photovoltaic (PV) technologies;
Improve the integration of PV with the distribution and transmission grid; and
Focus on approaches to support the market and end users.
To ensure a diverse, yet balanced portfolio of projects, RD&D funds will also be allocated based on various levels of risk associated with project completion time frame.
We will grant $10 million of the CSI RD&D funds to support the construction of the Helios research facility (Helios), which will focus, in part, on developing low cost solar energy conversion technology using solar panels that use PV and successor materials. This project has the potential to significantly impact the on-site solar power market in California and benefit the ratepayers.
Project solicitations will be through multiple funding cycles and a competitive process. Project selection in the early rounds of solicitation will be limited to eligible technologies with a PV focus which have potential benefits specifically for California. The size of the individual grants will also be capped to allow funding a larger portfolio of eligible projects.
We direct the Commission's Energy Division4 to select an RD&D Program Manager and seek Commission's approval of the selection through a resolution. The RD&D Program Manager's responsibilities, among other things, will be to work with staff to solicit, evaluate and recommend RD&D projects to the Commission for funding using our stated guidelines and criteria established in our Adopted CSI RD&D Plan. The RD&D Program Manager will be an entity with a team of experts who will assist the Commission in fulfilling its duties. To preserve a higher level of the RD&D budget for funding RD&D projects, we limit the RD&D program total administration and evaluation costs to 15% of the total budget of the RD&D program.
Finally, the Commission will make all final decisions on project funding and maintain oversight of the entire program. We believe the success of the program relies on our ability to periodically measure the effectiveness of the program and revise the program structure as necessary. We intend to keep a close watch on the program's overall progress to ensure that ratepayers' funds are spent efficiently and cost-effectively. An independent program evaluator, selected by the Energy Division, will provide comprehensive evaluation every three years of the RD&D Program Manager's performance, the results of the individual projects, and the entire program. The RD&D Program Evaluator will involve the stakeholders in this evaluation process.
1 The CSI program runs through 2016. Therefore, our Adopted CSI RD&D Plan also runs through 2016.
2 In this order, when we refer to ratepayers, we refer to the electric ratepayers of California's three largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs), namely Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison Company (Edison) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
3 We define these stages as research, development, demonstration and deployment. For detailed definitions of each, see the Adopted CSI RD&D Plan, Appendix A. Deployment is an element of demonstration as that term is used in Pub. Util. Code § 2851(c)(1).
4 When we assign tasks or responsibilities to the Energy Division, they are assigned to the Energy Division's Director or such staff as the Director designates.
