Low Income Programs

An out­line and details of low income focused Cal­i­for­nia Solar Power Programs

Back­ground

After the pas­sage of SB 1, which set forth spe­cific Cal­i­for­nia Solar Ini­tia­tive (CSI) pro­gram require­ments, and AB 2723, which cod­i­fied a require­ment that not less than 10 per­cent of over­all CSI funds be used for instal­la­tions of solar sys­tems on low-income res­i­den­tial hous­ing, the Cal­i­for­nia Pub­lic Util­i­ties Com­mis­sion (CPUC) ear­marked 10 per­cent of its $2.2 bil­lion bud­get for solar pro­grams for low-income hous­ing. The CPUC chose to cre­ate indi­vid­ual solar pro­grams for single-family low-income homes and mul­ti­fam­ily low-income build­ings.
Single-Family Afford­able Solar Hous­ing Program

On Novem­ber 16, 2007, the CPUC issued Deci­sion 07–01-045, cre­at­ing a $108 mil­lion Single-Family Low Income Incen­tive Pro­gram within the CSI. The Single-Family Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (SASH) Pro­gram will pro­vide higher incen­tives to off­set the project costs of installing solar on low income sin­gle fam­ily homes in Cal­i­for­nia. GRID Alter­na­tives will be the statewide SASH Pro­gram Man­ager. At this time, the SASH pro­gram is under devel­op­ment. For more infor­ma­tion, please con­tact GRID Alter­na­tives at 510–652-4730, or visit their web­site.
Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) Program

The Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) Pro­gram pro­vides higher incen­tives to off­set the project costs of installing solar on mul­ti­fam­ily afford­able hous­ing build­ings in Cal­i­for­nia. The goal of the MASH is to incor­po­rate high lev­els of energy effi­ciency and high per­form­ing solar sys­tems to help enhance the over­all qual­ity of afford­able housing.

MASH Track 1:

Pro­vides fixed rebates based on the size and expected per­for­mance of the sys­tem installed. Incen­tives range from $3.30-$4.00 per watt depend­ing on whether com­mon area load or ten­ant load is offset.

Sta­tus: Closed, no longer accept­ing applications

MASH Track 2:

Pro­vides higher, grant-style incen­tives for includ­ing addi­tional ten­ant benefits:

Direct Finan­cial Ben­e­fit
Energy Effi­ciency Upgrades
Out­reach and Edu­ca­tion
Green Job Train­ing or Creation

Sta­tus: The fourth Track 2 incen­tive fund­ing cycle, sched­uled to begin on Jan­u­ary 1, 2011 is post­poned. The CPUC has recently approved a request to post­pone the fourth appli­ca­tion cycle of Track 2 for the Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) pro­gram. The request came as a result of the CPUC issued Scop­ing Memo and Rul­ing of Assigned Com­mis­sioner and Admin­is­tra­tive Law Judges, and Request for Com­ment on Phase I Issues that includes a rec­om­men­da­tion to real­lo­cate all unre­served Track 2 incen­tives fund to Track 1, which would reopen with reduced incen­tives. It is antic­i­pated that the CPUC will rule on this mat­ter in the first quar­ter of 2011. The fourth MASH Track 2 incen­tive appli­ca­tion cycle was sched­uled to begin Jan­u­ary 1, 2011; how­ever, it has been post­poned to pre­serve fund­ing until the Com­mis­sion has time to rule on the above mat­ter.
What’s New
Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) Pro­gram Update

The CPUC has recently approved a request to post­pone the fourth appli­ca­tion cycle of Track 2 for the Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) pro­gram. The request came as a result of the CPUC issued Scop­ing Memo and Rul­ing of Assigned Com­mis­sioner and Admin­is­tra­tive Law Judges, and Request for Com­ment on Phase I Issues that includes a rec­om­men­da­tion to real­lo­cate all unre­served Track 2 incen­tives fund to Track 1, which would reopen with reduced incen­tives. It is antic­i­pated that the CPUC will rule on this mat­ter in the first quar­ter of 2011. The fourth MASH Track 2 incen­tive appli­ca­tion cycle was sched­uled to begin Jan­u­ary 1, 2011; how­ever, it has been post­poned to pre­serve fund­ing until the Com­mis­sion has time to rule on the above matter.

As of Octo­ber 26, 2009, the Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing Pro­gram has received appli­ca­tions for more than the allot­ted $32.9M in Track 1 and all new appli­ca­tions will be placed on a Wait List and funded through Track 1 attri­tion. Please note that after Decem­ber 31, 2009 (received, not post­marked) PG&E will not accept new appli­ca­tions for the MASH Track 1 Wait List.

In addi­tion, please let us know if you have any reserved appli­ca­tions that are no longer pro­ceed­ing and need to be can­celled. If you have any ques­tions, con­tact us at solar@pge.com.
Vir­tual Net Meter­ing Approved

On June 8, 2009, the CPUC approved PG&E’s Vir­tual Net Meter­ing (VNEM) tar­iff, NEMVNMA, which will allow Mul­ti­fam­ily Afford­able Solar Hous­ing (MASH) and New Solar Homes Part­ner­ship (NSHP) afford­able hous­ing par­tic­i­pants to allo­cate cred­its from one solar sys­tem across mul­ti­ple accounts in a low-income com­plex. The tar­iff is avail­able in PG&E’s elec­tric tar­iff book, and the appli­ca­tion is avail­able on PG&E’s inter­con­nec­tion web­site.
How to Apply

Until the statewide online data­base is updated to include MASH projects, MASH appli­ca­tions will be in hard­copy form only. MASH hand­book, appli­ca­tions and fact sheets can be found on the Hand­book & Forms page.
Addi­tional Energy Effi­ciency Programs

Prop­erty own­ers & man­agers: Energy Effi­ciency for Mul­ti­fam­ily Prop­er­ties
Ten­ants of multi-family build­ings: Energy Part­ners Pro­gram
Finan­cial Assis­tance Programs