With the advent of the wildfire driven Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, California has made several important new changes to the Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), a rebate program that incentivizes the deployment of (among other technologies) battery energy storage systems. As outlined in our recent article, late last year, the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) made substantial changes to the program designed to support battery energy storage deployment in Disadvantaged or Low-Income Communities. Once again, additional changes have been made to increase the funding and extend the reach of the program. Depending on the size & location of the project, the newly modified SGIP program is poised to pay for between 20% – 100% of the cost of a battery project. These program updates are scheduled to take effect in March (for Small Residential Systems) and April (for Non-Residential Systems) of this year.
The following tables outline the various incentive levels and qualifiers as of the CPUC’s latest Decision (D.20-01-021). TerraVerde continues to monitor this program closely and will provide additional updates as they become available.
As independent advisors, TerraVerde is supporting CCAs and Public Agencies in evaluating and deploying solar PV & battery energy storage programs. Over the past 10 years, we have developed over 100 MW and over $400M worth of solar & battery programs. For more information about SGIP and to learn more about our feasibility analysis, program design, and project development services, reach out to us at hello@terraverde.energy.
SGIP BASE INCENTIVE & (NEW!) RESILIENCY ADDER
Base Incentive:
Small Residential Systems (under 10 kW) |
Base Incentive:
Large-Scale Systems (over 10 kW) |
Resiliency Adder | |
Incentive Level | $0.15 – $0.40 / Wh
(varies by region) |
$0.25 – $0.40 / Wh
(varies by region) |
+ $0.15 / Wh
(on top of Base Incentive) |
Qualifiers |
|
|
|
SGIP EQUITY INCENTIVE
|
Single Family Equity Incentive | Multifamily Equity Incentive |
Non-Residential Equity Incentive |
Incentive Level | $0.85 / Wh | $0.85 / Wh | $0.85 / Wh |
Qualifiers |
|
|
|
SGIP EQUITY RESILIENCY INCENTIVE
|
Residential Equity Resiliency Incentive | Non-Residential Equity Resiliency Incentive |
Incentive Level | $1.00 / Wh | $1.00 / Wh |
Qualifiers |
|
|
PROGRAM QUALIFIER DESCRIPTIONS
- Investor Owned Utility Customer: receives electricity or gas service from PG&E, SCE, SoCal Gas, or SDG&E (including CCAs in these regions)
- Disadvantaged Community (DAC): any census tract that ranks in the top 25 percent most affected census tracts in the most recently release version of CalEnviroScreen
- Low-Income Community: (1) census tract w/ median income ≤ 80% CA median, or (2) census tract w/ median income ≤ county specific low-income threshold (determined by CA Dept of Housing and Community Development), or (3) at least 80% of households have income ≤ 60% area median income
- High Fire Threat Zone: Tier 2 or Tier 3 High Fire Threat District (HFTD) as designated by the CPUC
- PSPS Events: Public Safety Power Shutoff events
- Critical Facility: includes police & fire stations, emergency response providers, emergency operations centers, 911 call centers, hospitals & health care facilities, public and private gas, electric, water, wastewater or flood control facilities, small business grocery stores, or locations designated by the utility to provide assistance during power shutoffs