If California isn’t the most important state for solar, then it’s surely among the top few. That’s why it’s very, very troubling to see that California is undergoing a massive fiscal crisis. The state is quite literally running out of money. To give you a sense of the comparative scale, as the Times points out, Former Governor Grey Davis was run out of office for failing to deal with lesser crisis. Current Governor Schwarzenegger will have to find a way to navigate a notoriously obstructionist legislature that views tax increases as toxic in search of more revenues, or the result will be a great deal of very drastic cutbacks across the state.

Needless to say, if this is not dealt with soon we could be looking at some troubling realities for well-funded state initiatives. California has been a leader in solar for some time. The California Solar Initative is the flagship, $2 billion program in the state. Also of note are some support programs that offer quite generous terms: find out about them at our own page.

The economic downturn is not only a national problem; at the state level, the situation can often be even worse. California has to work to facilitate a meaningful response or many of the programs that make California such a unique place are going to be in serious trouble.