On July 2, 2012, the Calfornia Public Utilities Commission issued its 2012 California Solar Initiative Annual Program Assessment to the Legislature, showing that in 2011 California reached a major milestone by becoming the first state in the nation to install more than 1 gigawatt (1,000 megawatts) of customer-generated solar energy; a record 311 megawatts (MW) were installed in the investor-owned utility territories in 2011 alone.

As outlined in the report, currently more than 122,000 sites across the state host solar systems to serve on-site solar generation. The annual rate of new solar installations and the cumulative installed capacity both provide evidence that California is well along the path of achieving the goals set by Senate Bill (SB) 1 in 2006, the legislation that authorized the CSI Program.

“California’s solar success is unmatched in the nation,” said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey. “In the first quarter of 2012, there has already been 97 megawatts of solar installed. This means that the CSI Program is on track to reach 1,000 megawatts in installations by the end of the year.”