Michael Hiltzik: How California's rooftop solar program became a victim of its own spectacular success

There's one aspect of California's program to spur the installation of rooftop solar panels that everyone can agree on: It has been spectacularly successful.

Launched in 1995 and pushed forward a decade later, when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set a target of 1 million solar installations, the program has handily exceeded that goal.

Today there are more than 1.2 million rooftop systems in place, most of them atop residential buildings. That has made California — where an estimated 15% of electric generation comes from rooftop systems — the national leader in the technology.