Rebate program for solar switch taking hold (Calif. Solar Initiative back on track)

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/18/news/inland/61707191040.txt

NORTH COUNTY ---- After a confusing start for the California Solar Initiative this spring, more homeowners in San Diego County have been applying in the last few months for the rewards that come from installing solar panels.

The state Public Utilities Commission in 2006 approved $2.9 billion in rebates to homeowners and businesses, encouraging them to install solar power over the next decade.

A set of new approval requirements put in place at the start of the year slowed the rate of applications for rebates on residential retrofits, compared with last year. But officials at the California Center for Sustainable Energy, which administers the rebates in the San Diego region and holds monthly workshops for homeowners, say that the number of applications has been increasing every month as people learn the ropes.

Local firms that specialize in installing solar systems agree.

"There was a hiccup at the beginning of the year," said Ned DeWitt, regional sales manager for Borrego Solar, one of the oldest solar system installers in California. "But things have picked up since then."

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