California Solar Initiative To End For Solar Power In San Diego County

The California Solar Initiative's (CSI) solar panel subsidy program will end for San Diego County residents by the end of the year. Solar panel installers and CSI program officials say that end of the program will not negatively affect solar panel San Diego sales.

The CSI program was introduced in 2007 to provide subsidies for solar panels - it offers cash back to those who installed solar panels on their home or business. As more people purchased solar panels, the subsidies offered dropped through a series of levels of decreasing prices. The project, with a budget of 2.167 billion, was initially planned to last until 2016. However, the state's solar panel purchases exceeded the program's expectations, causing the program to end early.

As the subsidy declined, the cost of solar panels decreased. In fact, the cost of solar panels decreased so much so quickly that some companies prefer to just discount a customer's bill rather than fill out the detail application for the subsidy. The solar leases, which are owned by third parties, have stolen the market from traditional solar installations under the CSI.

Traditionally, a person would buy solar panels and then get paid back when their panels produced more power than they used, usually taking around seven years. With a solar lease, companies like Solaire Energy Systems are contracted to install the solar panels and keep ownership oft hem. Then the company, not the home or business owner, collects the subsidy and is able to take advantage of a federal tax credit - which should be available until 2016. In result, the home or business owner gets a lower electric cost compared to the cost without using the panels. According to the CSI, solar leases made up 76 percent of all installs in the San Diego area last year.

California is known for their progress in solar energy - in 2006 the CSI program made international news. With the solar panel subsides decreasing as popularity for solar leases increases, a solar market is being created that can sustain itself without government help.