Senate committee approves governor's ambitious solar roof
plan
The legislation would invest $2 billion in rooftop photovoltaic systems – panels that turn sunshine into electricity. Customers with solar panels would save money by producing their own energy and could sell excess power back to the electric grid.
Homeowners and businesses would get a rebate for installing the panels, with 10 percent of the subsidies set aside for low-income homes. Currently, a solar panel system costs about $27,000. Under the legislation, a typical home would get about $10,000 in rebates and tax breaks.
The bill is a key part of Schwarzenegger's energy agenda.
New houses were expected to make up about a third of the new solar systems, especially after 2010, when homebuilders would be required to offer panels as an option.
If approved, new home buyers would choose a solar array along with their carpet, countertops and bathroom fixtures, said Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, the bill's author.
Supporters of the bill said increasing the use of solar energy would create a nonpolluting source of power that will benefit all Californians, but some lawmakers said they were concerned other ratepayers would pay the tab without any of the benefits.
Sen. Martha Escutia, chairwoman of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, said she wanted to ensure that the poorest ratepayers wouldn't have to pay higher electricity rates to fund the program.
Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, questioned whether it was fair to subsidize people wealthy enough to afford solar panels.
"They're benefiting themselves. They get their electricity for free," she said. "It's not as sexy, but the truth is, it's more cost-effective to (promote) energy efficiency than solar panels."
Bowen also questioned how the state would monitor the performance of the solar panels, adding that a system she installed on her house last year was not producing as much electricity as promised.
"If we do this in a way that wastes money and isn't thought out and fails to deliver, we'll do more harm than good in our ability to move to solar energy," Bowen said.
She successfully pushed for an amendment to audit actual savings – both financial and electrical – produced by solar panels.
The bill's goal is to produce 3,000 megawatts worth of solar power by 2018. That's about 5 percent of the state's entire electricity usage at peak periods – generally hot summer afternoons when electricity is most in demand, most expensive, and when solar panels are most efficient.
Supporters say that's equivalent to 40 new, $30 million, 75-megawatt natural gas plants. One megawatt is enough to power about 750 homes.
Home builders have criticized Schwarzenegger's plan, saying they are concerned the rules would require solar energy in the same way the state has mandated low-flush toilets, insulation standards, energy efficient appliances or low-energy lighting fixtures in bathrooms.
All three investor-owned utilities said they support solar power, but oppose the legislation.
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. want the Legislature to cap the amount of incentives offered each year. Without an annual cap, they say the cost to ratepayers could run to billions of dollars over the 10-year life of the incentive program.
Edison also wants to limit how much money solar homes can receive for sending excess power to the electric grid. Edison also wanted the bill to address photovoltaic systems not mounted on roofs.
The committee voted 6-0 to approve the bill with amendments that would add protections for low-income ratepayers, add reviews of how the panels are performing and tighten rules on who could install the systems.
The legislation moves next to the Senate Rules Committee.
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On the Net:
Read the bill, SB1, at www.senate.ca.gov
© Copyright 2005 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.