Renewables Portfolio Standard

California has a long history of fostering renewable energy.  Many homes installed solar water heating or photovoltaic systems as early as the 1970s.  The state was fertile ground for moving toward increasing renewable energy in their state portfolio.

Electricity was deregulated in 1998 and the California Energy Commission was given the task of building a Renewable Energy Program.  Legislation related to the Renewable Energy Program included the Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, which was established in 2002 under Senate Bill 1078, accelerated in 2006 under Senate Bill 107 and expanded in 2011 under Senate Bill 2.  The RPS requires investor-owned utilities, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to increase procurement from eligible renewable energy resources to 33% by 2020.