CSI Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) Program

NOTE: The SASH program is closed. For more info contact the Program Administrator, GRID Alternatives, with any questions.

The California Solar Initiative’s Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) Program has issued the final SASH Semi-Annual Progress Report covering the last two quarters of 2022, which provides detailed information on the program's progress in each of the three service territories in California.

Recent highlights and milestones of the program include:

Nearly 10,000 PV systems have been installed and interconnected.
- 5,261 SASH 1.0 and 4,552 SASH 2.0
In total these projects have encumbered approximately $137.9 million in incentives and represent over 30 MW of solar capacity.
The SASH program has referred over 10,922 low-income homeowners to the utilities' Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) programs.

Program Administrator

The SASH Program was managed by GRID Alternatives. Please contact GRID Alternatives with questions about historical program information or records toll-free at (866)921-4696, or by email at SASH@gridalternatives.org or visit their website at www.gridalternatives.org.

About SASH

The California Solar Initiative (CSI) had a Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) Program that provided solar incentives on qualifying affordable single-family housing. The goals of the SASH program were to:

Decrease electricity usage by solar installation and reduce energy bills without increasing monthly expenses
Provide full and partial incentives for solar systems for low-income participants
Offer the power of solar and energy efficiency to homeowners
Decrease the expense of solar ownership with a higher incentive than the General CSI Program
Develop energy solutions that are environmentally and economically sustainable
Provide job training and employment opportunities in the solar energy and energy efficiency sectors of the economy.

The SASH program provided qualified low-income homeowners fixed, up front, capacity-based incentives to help offset the upfront cost of a solar electric system.

Eligible applicants must:

Receive electrical service from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), or San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E),
Own and live in their home,
Have a household income that is 80% or below the area median income (AMI),
Live in a home defined as “affordable housing” by California Public Utilities Code 2852.

The SASH program offered one incentive level of $3 per watt

For additional information on the CSI SASH Program, please consult the SASH Program Handbook.

For more information on the launch of the CSI Single-family Affordable Solar Homes Program, please read the CPUC regulatory decision that originally authorized the program and the January 2015 decision that reauthorized the program. You may also contact the CPUC's Distributed Generation team with regulatory questions.

AB 217 Implementation

Assembly Bill 217 (Bradford, 2013) extended the SASH and MASH programs of the California Solar Initiative with $108 million in new funding, and set several new goals for the programs. To read the Energy Division’s July 2014 staff proposal regarding the implementation of AB 217 at the Commission, please visit this link. For this and all other documents released in the Commission’s R.12-11-005 rulemaking, please visit the R.12-11-005 Docket Card page.

On January 29, 2015, the CPUC issued a decision to revise SASH’s enrollment eligibility requirements, capacity target, job training requirements, incentive levels, and allow third-party project ownership.

On April 29, 2015 the CPUC approved the SASH Handbook, outlining information and guidelines for the reauthorized SASH program.

SASH Program Evaluations

There have been three program evaluation cycles to date in the SASH program, and a final program evaluation was completed in 2023. The links below include final reports for the Program Administrator assessments, Market Assessments, and Impact and Cost Benefit Analyses for the program years evaluated.

On April 28, 2023 Evergreen Economics completed the final Process and Load Impact Evaluation of the Single-Family Affordable Solar Housing Program (SASH). The report can be access here and the Appendices are available here.

On January 28, 2016, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the California Solar Initiative SASH and MASH Market and Program Administrator Assessment, Programs Years 2011-2013

On January 28, 2016, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the California Solar Initiative SASH and MASH Impact and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Program Years 2011-2013

On August 4, 2011, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the California Solar Initiative SASH and MASH Low-Income Evaluations

On August 4, 2011, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the CSI SASH and MASH Impact and Cost Benefit Report.

On June 10, 2011, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the CSI SASH Biennial Report.

On April 5, 2011, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the CSI SASH and MASH Program Administrator Performance Assessment Report (March 2011), which provides an evaluation of the SASH program.

On April 1, 2011, Navigant Consulting, Inc issued the CSI SASH and MASH Market Assessment Report, which provides an evaluation of the SASH program.