Although it missed its long-sought 20% renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goal last year, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said last week it is on track to hit it this year if projections by the investor-owned utilities (IOU) turn out to be correct and by 2013 if other forecasts turn out to be more accurate.

Last week General Electric (GE) also launched a major solar project, and the wind industry said business remains bullish, albeit more modest than in previous years.

GE said it will invest more than $600 million in what it said is the world’s most efficient thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and a 400 MW manufacturing facility to produce thin film products. GE said its solar PV strategy also will be bolstered by its recently announced global acquisitions. GE acquired the French power conversion company Converteam and completed a separate deal to acquire PrimeStar Solar Inc., a thin film PV technology company in which GE has held a majority stake since 2008.

In California, the CPUC said three major private-sector utilities collectively received 17.9% of their supplies from RPS-eligible sources last year, and they estimate that by the end of this year they will hit 20%, by 2013 it should reach 26.7%. A more conservative long-term procurement plan forecast by the CPUC staff would have the utilities not collectively pass 20% until 2013, when their collective total would reach 23.1%.

California reported quarterly on the progress of the three major IOUs, while noting that there are other statewide efforts to boost the amount of renewable-based power supplies, such as the 10-year distributed solar rooftop program, a self-generation incentive program, feed-in tariffs and a renewable auction mechanism (RAM) program among others.

Separately, large public-sector utilities are pursuing their own RPS goals, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) came under criticism last Thursday for its unaudited claim to have hit its 2010 goal of 20% renewables. A general audit of LADWP by the city controller said that if the city utility’s achievement is eventually verified it will be “likely due more to luck than strong planning and policies.” LADWP General Manager Ron Nichols shrugged off the critique, saying “a win is a win.”

National wind energy data has indicated a slowing of growth last year in added capacity while the solar industry was reporting a “banner year” in a report released last month by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research. The report said the solar sector was the “bright spot” in the U.S. economy in 2010 as the fastest growing energy sector. Solar’s total market value in the United States jumped to $6 billion last year, compared with $3.6 billion in 2009, the report said.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) last Thursday reported 15% growth in 2010 as wind provided 26% of all new electric generating capacity in the United States. While manufacturers in the sector complain about depressed power demand and very low natural gas prices, AWEA’s latest annual accounting said there is 40,181 MW of wind capacity in the United States.

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