CALIFORNIA HEATS UP INCENTIVES FOR SOLAR POWER

clipped from www.planetaazul.com.mx LOS ANGELES, U.S. october, 14, 2009.- California has the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the United States, which Schwarzenegger increased last month when he ordered that the state get a third of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020. FBR Capital Markets analyst Mehdi Hosseini said the new subsidy for solar generation could be "explosive" on top of the existing investment tax credit for installing solar systems. NEW PROGRAMS California's new solar program guarantees that utilities will pay owners of commercial solar systems — up to 3 megawatts in size — a higher price for solar electricity, a subsidy meant to spur development of solar rooftop systems. Currently, if utilities want to charge more than the retail price for such systems they have to ask for permission from regulators. Now the California Public Utilities Commission will set the price. "This is above and beyond the subsidies that are already in place," Hosseini said.