Not later than July 1, 2007, the commission shall initiate a public proceeding to study and make findings whether, and under what conditions, solar energy systems should be required on new residential and new nonresidential buildings, including the establishment of numerical targets. As part of the study, the commission may determine that a solar energy system should not be required for any building unless the commission determines, based upon consideration of all costs associated with the system, that the system is cost effective when amortized over the economic life of the structure. When determining the cost-effectiveness of the solar energy system, the commission shall consider the availability of governmental rebates, tax deductions, net-metering, and other quantifiable factors, if the commission can determine the availability of these financial incentives if a solar energy system is made mandatory and not elective. The commission shall periodically update the study and incorporate any revision that the commission determines is necessary, including revisions that reflect changes in the financial incentives originally considered by the commission when determining cost-effectiveness of the solar energy system. For purposes of this section, “solar energy system” means a photovoltaic solar collector or other photovoltaic solar energy device that has a primary purpose of providing for the collection and distribution of solar energy for the generation of electricity. This section is intended to be for study purposes only and does not authorize the commission to develop and adopt any requirement for solar energy systems on either residential or nonresidential buildings.

(Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 132, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2007.)