Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | August 31, 2026
Over the weekend, the California State Senate passed AB 1813, the Community Renewable Energy Program Act, moving the bill toward the governor’s desk. Industry advocates say that this is a workable community solar and storage program that the state has yet failed to deliver for more than a decade. The bill has one procedural step in the Assembly before going to the Governor’s desk. 
“In the midst of rising energy bills and an affordability crisis, this is a popular and sensible policy solution to lower bills for every Californian while moving us closer to our climate goals,” said Derek Chernow, Executive Director of Californians for Local, Affordable Solar and Storage (CLASS). “California has fallen behind more than 20 other states on community solar, but Governor Newsom now has a tremendous opportunity to reverse that trend and help pave the way towards California becoming the national leader in community solar projects.”
This weekend’s vote caps a long road marked by fits and starts. California passed a strong community solar law, AB 2316, back in 2022, directing the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to build a program that would let renters, low-income households, and others who cannot install rooftop solar subscribe to local projects and save on their bills. Instead, the CPUC produced a program built to fail, and not a single community solar project has come online under it.
The Legislature responded to this inaction by passing legislation that directs regulators to value community solar and storage using the CPUC’s own Avoided Cost Calculator, an existing tool the state has declined to apply, and requires paired battery storage so projects deliver power when the grid needs it most.  Research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) identified AB 1813 as a step toward community solar success, as it directs the state to use the CPUC’s own Avoided Cost Calculator to value community solar subscriptions and requires paired storage so projects deliver power when the grid needs it most.
With the legislation clearing the Senate, Gov. Newsom now has an opportunity to sign AB 1813, positioning California to build the nation’s largest community solar and storage program, delivering:
Clean power for more than 2.2 million Californians, from a conservative 5.4 GW of new community solar and storage built across the state. A study by Kevala finds opportunity for more than 17.5 GW of community solar and storage to serve California’s grid during summer peak demand.
Lower bills with no cost shift. Subscribers save roughly $190 a year on average, and closer to $250 a year for low-income households, while every ratepayer benefits and no cost is shifted to people who do not subscribe.
$6.5 billion in ratepayer savings statewide for subscribers and nonsubscribers alike, according to independent analysis from Aurora Energy Research, by cutting reliance on expensive gas generation and easing grid congestion.
More than 160,000 good-paying local jobs and over $20 billion in new investment across California, including $700 million to modernize the state’s aging grid.
Real equity by design. A majority of projects must serve low-income subscribers, reaching renters, small businesses, and Central Valley farmers who can host projects on unproductive land and keep farms in the family.
A stronger, cleaner grid. Paired storage discharges during peak evening demand, easing strain on the system while reducing reliance on natural gas and lowering emissions.
News item from CLASS

Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

mike says
August 31, 2026 at 10:47 am
Will AB1813 apply to municipal utilities like DWP and SMUD? Hope so. In many respects the “munis” have lagged far behind the IOUs (due to PUC action) in deploying solar. I should know as I worked for SMUD when it was a solar leader in the early days. Since than, SMUD has made it particularly difficult for solar in it’s service territory acting more like an IOU than a publicly owned utility.
John Targasian says
August 31, 2026 at 11:04 am
SMUD lags on solar because their rates are half of what PG&E charges. Much lower incentive for people to do a mass capital purchase like rooftop solar.
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