CALSEIA prepared the diagram below to illustrate the various paths to market for solar electric generation. The dark line across the diagram denotes a boundary between projects that are on the customer-retail side of an electric meter and projects that are on the utility-wholesale side of an electric meter. (Retail is above the line, wholesale is below the line).

CALSEIA is encouraging state policy to open the market for ‘distributed solar generation.’ This type of project is large enough to provide energy to more than one customer. It could be on a rooftop, a parking lot, or open land within a community. Distributed solar generation projects could be as small as 250 kilowatts to as large as 20 megawatts (1 megawatt is generally enough power for approximately 750 homes).

Distributed solar generation and large-scale utility solar generation can work together to provide clean renewable power to California.

Right now, market rules prevent distributed solar projects from being developed. The kinds of rules that are needed include a standard contract (also called feed-in tariffs) for project developers to enter into with a local utility and a purchase price that reflects the energy, environmental, time of delivery, location, and other attributes of the solar project. Each of these attributes has a value, for example, locating a project close to where energy is needed reduces energy losses that occur when electricity travels over long distances. In the diagram below, the box with the dotted line illustrates that path to market that is not currently available for solar projects to be built in California.

CALSEIA is working to remove barriers to distributed solar generation through legislative and regulatory policy changes. Technologies that can provide solar electric generation include photovoltaics and solar thermal electric generation.