A Million Solar Roofs
Too much of our energy comes from dirty sources that harm our environment. But by tapping the power of the sun and wind, and using less energy in the first place through efficiency measures, we can repower our lives with clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out.
We must repower California
Too much of our energy comes from coal, oil and other dirty sources that wreak havoc on our environment.
Fortunately, we are surrounded by clean energy options — the power of the sun, the movement of wind and waves, and the heat of the earth. By using energy more efficiently and tapping our vast renewable energy resources, we can move to 100% clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out.
Here in California, we can have solar power on every roof on your block, on your office, atop your local schools, and on nearby retail outlets, generating clean energy to power our lives and repower our economy. That’s why Environment California created our Million Solar Roofs program in 2006. There is now 8 times more rooftop solar power in California than six years ago. In fact, California alone generates more energy from solar than all but five nations in the world.
Recently, we announced that California reached an important milestone — the installation of more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar energy, or enough energy to power 250,000 homes. While that’s a great start, California has tremendous untapped solar potential. The good news is, we have a committed and powerful champion for solar in Gov. Jerry Brown. Recently, the governor made a public call for building 12 gigawatts of local clean energy across the state by 2020. That’s significant — 12 GW is the equivalent of 12 nuclear power plants. Choosing instead to build 12 GW of local solar can put all of us firmly on the path towards a cleaner energy future.
With your activism, we can reach a million solar roofs
By rallying around the governor’s vision, we will reach our goal of a million solar roofs — and blow past it — by the end of this decade. Environment California is working to promote the best policies to turn the governor’s vision into reality quickly and effectively. Of course, the powerful utility companies are threatened by the idea of a mainstream solar power market in which you and I are able to generate our own energy. They, along with the fossil fuel industry, are fighting us every step of the way. To overcome the special interests of the traditional energy industry, we need your help.
Solar power is a no-brainer for California. We have an abundance of sunshine, reliable solar technology at our fingertips, and we have a leader who gets it. We are talking about generating our own energy from the sun with no pollution, and creating much-needed green jobs while we’re at it. We need your support to push past the utility giants and make progress toward our clean energy future. Join our campaign by endorsing Gov. Brown’s clean energy vision today.
Help California get to a million solar roofs — and more.
Key facts
Watch a brief video of our staff, state policymakers and solar company executives reflecting on California's solar accomplishments, challenges and great potential.
- California’s solar industry celebrated a major milestone in November 2011 — the installation of more than 1,000 megawatts of rooftop solar photovoltaic capacity in total.
- Since the Million Solar Roofs initiative began, the total installed cost of residential solar power systems in California has fallen 25%, and the cost of commercial-scale systems has fallen more than 40%. If progress continues at the same rate, residential solar energy should reach break-even costs statewide in the next five years, even without upfront rebates.
- So far, nearly 100 elected officials across the state have officially endorsed Gov. Brown’s pioneering vision to build 12 gigawatts of local clean energy — enough energy to cover a million solar roofs and then some — by 2020.
- From 2010 to 2011, jobs in the U.S. solar sector grew 10 times faster than the rest of the economy, with one-fourth of solar jobs here in California.