WHY LA SUN FLOPPED

Dangers Or Incompetence? Behind The Collapse Of LADWP's Solar Program
Jessica Lillian, 10 May 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Why did the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) shut down its solar rebate program last month? …[O]ne obvious and expected reason…[was] money problems…[T]wo mysterious additional factors…[were]…safety concerns…[and] misinformation…Frustrated PV installers in the Los Angeles area say that the program has been run ineffectively for years…[with] an archaic inspection policy.

"…[W]hen combined with state budget cuts, utility staff reductions and strong residential PV growth in Southern California, the inspection requirement quickly led to a seemingly insurmountable processing backlog…[I]nspection wait times - coupled with other paperwork delays - have stretched as long as two to three months…Facing impatient customers and an uncertain rebate availability window, some installers suggested to customers that their arrays could be activated prior to being inspected. LADWP responded by sending letters to PV installers threatening financial penalties and legal action…"

click to enlarge

"As the conflict intensified, local installers saw their businesses suffer in the wake of continued delays and forfeited rebates, and continued to publicly question whether these individual inspections were necessary to begin with…Modern inverters' safety features ensure that when the electrical grid shuts down or goes out of tolerance, the inverter will immediately go offline and maintain safe conditions…

"LADWP insists that the inspections are vital…The inspector also verifies on-site system equipment and shading characteristics - both of which commonly differ from the descriptions stated on the rebate program's reservation request form…[S]ome solar companies have asked the LADWP - without success - to adopt the third-party spot-check inspection methodologies used by other utilities, including nearby Southern California Edison (SCE)…[which] provides a more than sufficient deterrent to installer shortcuts or shoddy craftsmanship."

Unfortunately, the DWP is not so ambitious (click to enlarge)

"The industry was…rebuffed when it offered to bolster the LADWP's solar program's shrinking ranks with its own employees…LADWP maintains that taking up the industry on this offer would threaten program integrity…LADWP plans to implement PowerClerk, an online application and processing tool, as it wades through its accumulated solar program applications from the past six months. The utility says this backlog must be cleared before the program can be re-opened.

"Utility rebate programs across the U.S. are no strangers to financial shortfalls and over-enrollment. LADWP's program had confirmed requests for $112 million in solar rebates as of April 1, but only $30 million is budgeted annually for the program…[I]nspection issues and questionable program administration [aside], monetary concerns must also be remedied…[but the] broken program will require more than cashflow adjustments…[Many believe the] blame lies solely with LADWP and…calls into question the utility's true support of solar power…"