Amidst drought, California bullish on solar

California is bullish on solar, with state leaders having set some of the nation's most aggressive renewable energy goals to push back against climate change.

The solar focus had also helped the state transition to generatimg and consuming solar power, emerging as the first state to get over 5 per cent of its power from solar panels last year – a figure that did not include rooftop systems.

The solar industry had been approaching the crossroad as a number of programmes that helped usher in the California's solar explosion were being phased out.

This meant future solar customers would need to make different energy calculations as the state tried to meet major goals that bank depended on higher investments in the technology.

However, on two counts the state would have cleared the finish line ahead of those changes hitting and there were clear reasons in each case.

One goal had forced utilities to step up the amount of power they were getting from renewables and that had helped the state exceed its targets for large-scale projects.

The other success story had given home and business owners rebates to go solar, making the decision easier for those with huge electricity bills.