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After sitting on the shelf for nearly eight months, the California Energy Commission’s Emerging Renewables Program was revived this week, but only after commissioners adopted some significant changes Nov. 2. The program--suspended March 4 and scheduled to be reinstated Nov. 9--provides rebates and production incentives to consumers who buy and install renewable energy technologies, specifically small wind systems and fuel cells, for on-site generation. The Energy Commission put it on hold for evaluation after commission staff said the program had seen a significant increase in applications requesting rebate amounts close to or equal to a system’s total installed costs. The program was intended to provide only a portion of the costs. The three commissioners on hand unanimously approved several staff-recommended changes to the program meant to prevent applicants and other participants from gaming the system. “The certification process will be time consuming for many of those participating, but I think we’re guaranteed to get a product that meets the program goals as well as best maximizes and utilizes ratepayer investments,” commissioner Carla Peterman said. Among the approved changes: -Rebates can no longer exceed 50 percent of the net purchase price of an energy system. -The rebate for small wind systems will drop from the current $3/watt for the first 10 kW, to $2.60/watt as of March, 2012. -Small wind turbines are required to receive third-party certification in order to be included on the list of eligible small wind turbines for the program. -Small wind turbines currently on the list of eligible equipment for the program must provide a third party-certified power curve in order to remain on the list. The wind turbine provisions were related to a situation where the performance of a turbine that had been listed on the commission’s list of rebate-eligible equipment was later revealed to be far less than its specifications had claimed. The discrepancy came to light after purchasers complained to the CEC. The turbine’s maker, Carlsbad-based DyoCore, had been accused of grossly overstating the devices’ performance, charges the company’s founder, David Raine, had denied. In a separate action, commissioners voted to de-list the turbine, saying that the product had been misrepresented by the company. “The small wind industry has been very harmed by the activities that have gone on here, and specifically by the activities of DyoCore,” hearing officer Raoul Renaud said. The commission also decided to work out some type of restitution for companies that bought and installed the DyoCore turbines. “Unfortunately in the DyoCore case, we were getting inflated claims, we weren’t getting the green power that we were asking our citizens to pay for,” commission president Bob Weisenmiller said. “And that’s just not acceptable. For these programs to be viable, we really have to make sure we’re delivering results to people.”

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