California

• Solar Thermal Generation of Electrical Power on California Freeway’s Shoulders and Median (2009)-

  This report was written by Saurin Shah and Tejas Bhagwat of California State University, Sacramento. It focuses on their research into the feasibility of installing solar thermal systems along Californian freeways and highways to generate electricity for use in stoplights, tolls, and other features of the California highway system.

• Commercial Solar Water Heating California (2010)-

  This brochure was created by San Francisco Environment, a department of San Francisco County and City government. It provides information on solar thermal water heating for commercial and business use. Two solar thermal government incentives are detailed, more of which can be found here.

• USA: High Subsidy Level and Slow Motion in California-

  Demand for subsidised solar water heater is very different in Europe and the USA. A comparison between California and the Czech Republic shows that the growth potential is much higher in European countries. The number of applications submitted to the national subsidy programme has been 100 times as much in the Eastern European country as in the US state. The photo shows a commercial solar water heater on a multi-family apartment community in Huntington Beach, California, installed by California Solar Thermal, Inc. The 24-panel-installation was subsidised by both California Solar Initiative (CSI) - Thermal Program as well as the Federal Treasury Grant (30%) and reached a payback time of two years.
  Photo: California Solar Thermal

• California: CPUC Approves 8-Year Incentive Programme with a Budget of US$ 351 Million-

  On the 21^st of January, the Californian Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) finally approved the “California Solar Initiative (CSI) – Thermal Program”. The eight-year programme has a budget of US$ 351 million and is thought to financially assist home owners and proprietors of commercial buildings who replace natural gas or electric geysers with solar water heaters (see the final decision of CPUC attached).

• California Solar Initiative Thermal Program Quarterly Progress Report (2011)-

  This is a progress report on the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal Program, covering October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011. It was prepared by the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) on behalf of the CSI Thermal Program Administrators. More information on the CSI Thermal Program and similar solar thermal incentive programs can be found here.

• San Francisco Solar Water-Heated Homes and Organizations (2009)-

  This brochure was created by San Francisco Environment, which is a department of the City and County of San Francisco. It presents two case studies of successful solar thermal water heating installations in San Francisco.

• Solar Water Heater Project: Design for Sustainable Communities (2009)-

  This report was written by Professor Ashok Gadgil of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at the University of California. The professor and a team of student researchers set out to design a solar thermal water heating system for use by native populations in Guatemala, and the document reports on their success.

• Solar Water Heating – Natural Gas Assisted or Stand Alone Solar?" (2011)-

  This presentation was created by Paul Outram of Sun Earth Inc. It provides background information on solar thermal water heating technology, and finishes by making the case for the necessity of hybrid natural gas – solar thermal water heating systems. The presentation is illustrated with photos and graphs throughout.

• Solar Power for Tomorrow's World (2011)-

  This presentation was created by Ken May of Abengoa Solar, and was published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). It explains the potential of solar thermal to displace conventional electric use and create long term utility savings.

• Mission Heights Condominiums Solar Thermal Hot Water Heating System (2007)-

  This case study was written by Adroit Solar, a solar energy company in California. It profiles a solar thermal installation at the Mission Heights Condominium complex which provides solar thermal water heating to 116 residential units in 3 buildings.

• Solar Thermal Cooling and Heating: A Year-Round Thermal Comfort Strategy (2004)-

  This case study was written by Jason Kirchoff et. al. of the University of Southern California School of Architecture. It analyzes the efficiency of a year round solar thermal heating and cooling system in a commercial building in Los Angeles, California.

• Central Plant District Cooling and Heating on College Campus (2009)-

  This case study was written by SunChiller and All Energy USA. It focuses on a solar thermal air conditioning and heating system at Los Angeles Valley College.

• The Added Economic and Environmental Value of Solar Thermal Systems in Microgrids with Combined Heat and Power (2009)-

  This document was written by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a United States Department of Energy Office of Science national lab. It focuses on the potential benefits of solar thermal heat storage systems. The paper was first presented at the 3rd International Conference on Solar Air-Conditioning in Sicily in 2009.

• Emerging Technology Option for Clean Power Generation - Concentrated Solar Power (2009)-

  This 2009 paper underlines the overall benefits of solar power especially when considered as part of a country or region's energy generation options mix. In addition to listing the available technologies, the document also looks into the economics of solar thermal and provides a summary comparison among parabolic through, central receiver and parabolic dish technologies.

• USA: Utility Networking for Solar Thermal Energy-

  A unique network promoting solar thermal energy has developed in the USA: The Utility Solar Water Heating Initiative (USH2O) launched in 1994 offers utilities, as well as companies related to the solar thermal sector, the opportunity of concerted advocacy initiatives, and exchanging knowledge and experiences. The aim of USH2O is to facilitate the successful implementation of utility solar water heating programmes and educate stakeholders about the potential of solar heating and cooling technologies.

• USA: New Solar Service Model Introduced in Florida-

  In late October 2010, utility Lakeland Electric in Florida and California-based renewable energy service company Regenesis Power launched a new programme for the promotion of solar water heaters. The Lakeland Solar Hot Water Service offers homeowners the possibility to purchase the energy a system generates for a monthly fee, which is comparable to the monthly electricity costs for a family of four. The 2011 target is to install 1,500 solar water heaters.

• Hawaii: Is the Strongest Solar Thermal Market in the US in Trouble?-

  After being the strongest U.S. market for solar thermal for many years, Hawaii currently has to cope with a falling demand for solar thermal installations. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight report for the third quarter of US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and GMT Research, Hawaii has dropped behind California on second position. Solarthermalworld.org asked Mark Duda, President of the Hawaiian Solar Energy Association, about the background of this development.

• USA: 100th Anniversary of modern Solar Thermal Heater-

  Pioneering solar water heater technology in California: William J. Bailey, a clever business man from California, started producing solar water heaters in his company Day and Night Solar Heater Co. exactly 100 years ago. The technology was based on Bailey´s own patent, which was approved on 2 August 1910.
  Photo: A Golden Thread*
  

• USA: CSI - Thermal Program offers incentives for Commercial Systems-

  
  The California Solar Initiative (CSI) – Thermal Program began accepting applications for commercial systems on 8 October 2010. A month before this important date, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) published a 75-page handbook explaining what's most important when applying for the CSI rebate.
  
  

• California: Subsidy Programme off to a Slow Start -

  The Intersolar North America held in San Francisco in the middle of July was at the right time and place for analysing the first experiences with the new incentive programme in California called California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal Programme. Photo: Bärbel Epp

• Intersolar North America 2011, San Francisco- Intersolar North America 2011 takes place from July 12 - 14 2011 at the Mocone Center, San Francisco. Exhibition and conference promote the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 580 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and over 20,000 trade visitors participated in 2010. The conference, which took place at the InterContinental Hotel, and accompanying programs featured more than 2,500 attendees over four days.
• California Solar Initiative Thermal Program Contractor & Self‐Installer Workshop (2010)-

  This power point presentation was used at a training workshop organised in the framework of the California Solar Initiative Thermal Programme. The workshop is a required introductory course for contractors, self-installers and applicants interested in participating in this programme. The workshop did not intend to show how to install, design or sell solar water heating (SWH) systems, but to explain the CSI‐T programme eligibility requirements, the application process; technical requirements; inspection checklist and also provide an overview of SWH systems.

• California Solar Rebates, Tax Credits and Other Incentives (2010)-

  This short document from SFEnvironment, a department of the City County of San Francisco, provides information on different incentive programmes carried out in California USA, like the San Francisco’s GoSolarSF Incentive Programme, the California Solar Initiative, Single Family Low Income Programme, the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing, the Solar Water Heating, among many others. The document includes a short description of each scheme and links to official website.

• Solar Power International 2010, Los Angeles, CA - Solar Power International is a large solar conference and expo. In 2009, the event attracted more than 24,000 industry professionals. The number of exhibitors topped 930. Given the surge in the solar energy market, the 2010 event, which takes place from 12 to 14 October 2010 in Los Angeles, CA will set the bar even higher. The Conference and expo cover the topics PV, CSP, solar hot water, solar heating and cooling and solar pool heating.
• USA: A.O. Smith, Rheem and Bradford White discover Solar Technology-

  The three major US-American water heater manufacturers - A.O. Smith, Rheem and Bradford White – are pushing into the solar thermal sector. All of them specialize in solar water heaters in the size of 60 / 80 and 120 gallons. Rheem and A.O. Smith additionally offer entire kits by purchasing collectors from OEM manufacturers. Photo: Rheem

• CSI – Thermal Program in California: performance-based Incentives decreasing over the Years -

  The eight-year programme in California has a budget of US$ 351 million and is thought to financially assist home owners and proprietors of commercial buildings who replace natural gas or electric geysers with solar water heaters.

  The 1^st of May 2010 will be the official starting date of the programme for accepting residential applications. As for multi-family homes and commercial buildings, the kick-off date is the 1^st of June 2010. Applications for solar thermal systems installed after the 15^th of July 2009 will be accepted.

• Economic, Energy, and Environmental Benefits of Concentrating Solar Power in California- The objective of the study, published by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREl) in 2006, was to characterize commercial and developing CSP technologies and estimate the direct and indirect economic impacts of CSP deployment. The economic impact of CSP deployment was calculated by considering the impact to Gross State Output, earnings, employment, and to state tax receipts. The study was divided into five tasks: • Task 1: Technology Assessment • Task 2: Solar Resource Assessment • Task 3: Cost of Energy and Economic Impact Evaluation
• CSI – Thermal Program Energy Division Staff Proposal for Solar Water Heating Program (2008)-

  This proposal is for a Solar Water Heating program, beyond the incentive programs in place currently in California. The goals of this program would cover the following areas: increase installations for reduction in SWH technology costs; address upfront costs with incentives; reward high performing systems and increase growth of market.

• California's Solar Thermal Incentive Programme will finally start-

  Two years – that is how long California has already been waiting for a “200,000 solar roof programme“. After the Californian Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) published its “Proposed Decision“ in November, the programme may finally become reality next year.

• IREC – Updates and Trends (2007)-

  This article was put out by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council in 2007. It highlights some of the new policy developments that are particularly important for advancing solar markets, including renewable portfolio standards, rebates and other direct incentives, tax credits, net metering and solar rights laws.

• Going Solar – Community Environmental Council (2009)-

  This brochure was put together by the Community Environmental Council (CEC) in 2009. It was designed to help the consumer buy, install and take advantage of solar thermal options. It gives you 10 steps to follow while choosing the proper solar technology for your home and includes additional resources to consult at the end. Information covered in the 10 steps includes: planning on size, assess the most efficient location, receiving incentives and rebates, getting permits and receiving tax credits.

   

• Santa Cruz Solar Financing Initiative (2009)-

  This document explains what the Santa Cruz Solar Financing Initiative is and what the program is about. This program is in development by a joint effort from the city of Santa Cruz and Ecology Action and the purpose is to provide additional financing for installing solar systems.

• Emerging Industry & Occupations Report (2008)-

  In 2008 the Centers of Excellence (COE) conducted a survey of 212 solar and solar-related businesses throughout California, which enabled to identify the regions within California that exhibited the greatest need for workers: the Bay Area; the Greater Sacramento area; Southern California; and Los Angeles County.

• Confident Newcomers in the U.S.- After almost 20 years of stagnant markets, since 2005 the U.S. solar thermal market is exploding. According to the official governmental statistics (www.eia.doe.gov) the market rose by 77 % in 2006 to 111,480 m² (78 MW_th). After many years of winter sleep the local industry is waking up. Interesting and self-confident newcomers enter the stage.
• Handbook for the Solar Water Heating Pilot Programme in California (2008)-

  The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) developed a Solar Water Heating Pilot Programme, following the launch of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) in 2006, intended to promote the greenhouse gas emissions reduction by lowering the usage of natural gas and electricity for water heating.

• Solar Thermal Power Plants (2000)-

  This document was submitted to the European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (EUREC) in 2000 in regards to three technologies to solar thermal power plants: parabolic troughs, central receivers (towers) and parabolic dishes.

  The document touches on the success of trough-type solar thermal power stations in California, which have fed more than 8 billion kWh of solar-based electricity to Southern California.

  This paper breaks down what has kept this technology from moving forward, as well as projected goals for market success of these technologies:

• California’s Solar Shade Control Act (2007)-

  This document produced in 2007 by the Energy Policy Initiatives Center analyses sections 25980-25986 of the California Public Resources Code known as the Solar Shade Control Act, and reviews lawsuits brought under the Act. In place since 1978, the Solar Shade Control Act intended to balance the effects of planting trees and shrubs for shade and visual appeal while not affecting solar energy devices.