The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this article: (4163) This article shall remain in effect only until August 1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before August 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date. If deemed appropriate in consultation with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the governing board may establish a grant program or a revolving loan or loan guarantee program for low-income residential housing consistent with the requirements of Chapter 5.3 ( commencing with Section 25425) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code. (c) Includes an element that addresses the installation of solar water heating systems on low-income residential housing. (b) Includes minimum ratings and standards for equipment, components, and systems to ensure reasonable performance and compliance with the minimum ratings and standards. The eligibility criteria shall include those elements contained in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 2864. (a) Ensures that any solar water heating system receiving monetary incentives complies with eligibility criteria adopted by the governing body.

In order to further the state goal of encouraging the installation of 200,000 solar water heaters by 2017, the governing body of each publicly owned utility providing gas service to retail end-use gas customers shall, after a public proceeding, adopt, implement, and finance a solar water heating system incentive program that does all the following: (4157) Except for the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program in San Diego, solar water heating technologies shall not be eligible for California Solar Initiative ( CSI) funds, pursuant to Section 2851, unless they also displace electricity, in which case only the electricity displacing portion of the technology may be eligible under the CSI program, as determined by the commission. To facilitate the understanding of how solar water heating systems compare with other clean energy and energy efficiency technologies, all documents related to and rebates provided by this program shall be measured in both kWhth and therms of natural gas saved. This report shall include justification for the size of the rebate program in terms of total available incentive moneys as well as the anticipated benefits of the program in its entirety. Not later than July 1, 2010, the commission shall report to the Legislature as to the effectiveness of the program and make recommendations as to any changes that should be made to the program.

(d) In coordination with the commission, the Energy Commission shall consider, when appropriate, coupling rebates for solar water heating systems with complementary energy efficiency technologies, including, but not limited to, efficient hot water heating tanks and tankless or on demand hot water systems that can be installed in addition to the solar water heating system. (c) The commission shall consider the impact of rebates for solar water heating systems pursuant to this article on existing incentive programs for energy efficiency technology. (b) The commission shall consider federal tax credits and other incentives available for this technology when determining the appropriate rebate amount. They shall be structured so as to drive down the cost of the solar water heating technologies, and be paid out on a performance-based incentive basis so that incentives are earned based on the actual energy savings, or on predicted energy savings as established by the commission. (a) The rebates provided through this program shall decline over time.

Public utilities code 2869