If
the nation is, as President Bush has said, "addicted to oil," then California may have
found a cure.
On
Jan. 12, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the California Solar
Initiative, authorizing the state to put $3.2 billion into solar power over the
next 11 years. The amount is by far the largest solar investment of any state,
and rivals that of any nation.
Environment California staff
worked closely with policy makers and allies, especially State Senator Kevin
Murray (D-LA), the Schwarzenegger Administration, and the Public Utilities Commission
to develop the program.
Here’s how the program will
work:
• Over the next 11 years,
homeowners, businesses, farmers and others will access $3.2 billion in rebates
for rooftop solar systems, reducing global warming pollution by one ton for
every solar roof.
• By spurring growth in the
solar industry, the program will cut the cost of solar in half within a decade
and create an estimated 15,000 new jobs in California.
• Funding will come from monies
already earmarked for solar power and a small surcharge that the PUC says can
be absorbed into existing rates.
The program is modeled
closely on the Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1, which came close to passage in
the Legislature last fall. Environment California’s
Bernadette Del Chiaro helped craft that measure as well as the new California
Solar Initiative. Here’s the background:
• Coming on the heels of the
2001 energy crisis, Environment California spearhead passage of the Clean
Energy Law in 2002, committing the state to a goal of 20 percent renewable
energy by 2017.
• To help make solar power—the
most abundant form of renewable energy—a mainstream technology, Environment
California works with Sen. Murray, beginning in 2003, on legislation to require
solar panels on new homes.
• Under pressure from the
home-building industry, lawmakers let the bill die. But in his campaign for
governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger embraces the idea, making it a centerpiece of
his platform.
• While the new governor
mentions solar roofs in his State of the State address, little action follows.
In the summer of 2004, Environment California launches a “Solarnator” tour,
calling on the governor to step up his efforts. The governor calls an emergency
meeting to revive the bill in August, but once again the bill dies.
• In 2005, we work with the
governor’s staff to expand the bill’s scope: the solar roofs bill is now the
Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Del Chiaro meets with editorial boards
throughout the state, earning endorsements from all major newspapers,
researches a set of reports on the positive economics of solar, and leads a
campaign that mobilizes more than 100,000 Environment California members and
others to write, e-mail or call their elected officials. Yet again, the bill
dies at the 11th hour.
• As soon as the session ends,
Del Chiaro and allies begin work with PUC on a plan to use their administrative
authority to adopt key elements of the Million Solar Roofs bill. With the
governor’s support, the PUC adopts our recommendations on Jan. 12 and California takes one
monumental step toward becoming the world’s number one solar leader.
“This
is a giant step toward global warming solutions and real energy independence,”
says Del Chiaro. “But there’s more for all of us—lawmakers, municipalities,
solar industry and California
residents included—to do. Pushing past the politics and powerful interests that
stand in the way of a bright future for solar power remains a top
priority.”
