BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1923
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 1923 (Evans) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
SUBJECT : Energy: solar energy systems: theft prevention.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to use funds dedicated for research and development from
the California Solar Initiative (CSI) for antitheft technology
to protect investments in solar energy systems. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Makes a number of findings, including:
a) Between June 2008 and September 2009, in Napa County
alone, over 400 solar panels worth more than $400,000 were
stolen from wineries.
b) The state has the ability to provide security for
consumers who have invested in an energy source with public
support and benefit.
c) The CSI includes $50 million for "Research, Development,
Deployment, and Demonstration" (RD&D) and a portion of the
funds should be invested in theft prevention, tracking, and
security for solar panels.
2)Permits moneys allocated for RD&D to be used for antitheft
technology to protect investments in solar energy systems.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the California Solar Initiative, which provides $3.3
billion in ratepayer-funded incentives with the goal of
installing 3,000 MW equivalent generation capacity of solar
photovoltaic (PV) panels.
2)In implementing the CSI, precludes the CPUC from allocating
more than $50 million to RD&D that explores solar technologies
and other distributed generation technologies that employ or
could employ solar energy for generation or storage of
electricity or to offset natural gas usage.
AB 1923
Page 2
3)Creates the Public Interest Energy Research program (PIER) at
the California Energy Commission (CEC) to provide $83.5
million in public interest energy research funds annually
($62.5 million for electricity and $21 million for natural
gas) for contracts and grants for research and development of
energy technologies and related scientific activities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, the purpose of this bill is
to allow research development and demonstration for antitheft
technology for solar energy systems to be an eligible use of
these funds. By doing so, the author states that the state will
not only be protecting its commitment and investment, but those
which have been made by individuals and businesses.
According to the author, this issue came to her attention
through conversations with the Napa County Sheriff's Department.
In Napa County alone, more than $400,000 worth of solar panels
has been stolen in just over a year. Wineries, with large
ground-level installed arrays, have been particularly hard hit.
Moreover, there have been numerous newspaper articles
highlighting the issue.
1) The CSI RD&D : The goal of the CSI RD&D program is to invest
$50 million through 2016 to fund solar research and
demonstration projects that will measurably reduce the cost and
accelerate the installation of solar and other distributed
technologies that could employ solar for generation, storage, or
that could reduce the use of natural gas.
On March 11, 2010, the CPUC approved its first round of grant
solicitations totaling up to $9.3 million. The grants focused
on integration of PV into the utility grid. These eight grant
recipients are expected to bring over $6 million in matching
funding to their projects from other funding sources. The CPUC
states that the research projects approved today will remove
barriers and provide key insights into how we can efficiently
use the energy from PV being produced on a million solar roofs."
The CSI RD&D program is administered by Itron, Inc., as Program
Manager, under the oversight of the CPUC. The CSI RD&D Program
has a budget of $50 million, running through 2016. The projects
funded today are expected to be completed within two years.
AB 1923
Page 3
A second round of CSI RD&D grant solicitation, issued in
November 2009, focused on improved PV production technologies
and innovative business models. Proposals submitted in response
to the second solicitation are currently under review, and the
awardees are expected to be announced in mid-2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Solar Industries Association (CALSEIA)
California State Sheriffs' Association (CSSA)
Napa County Office of Sheriff-Coroner
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
Wine Institute
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Gina Adams / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083