June 2, 2005
Pho
|
|
June 2, 2005 Pho |
"I'm very encouraged by this as it will send the
bill to the Assembly with a lot more momentum."
- David Hochschild, Director of Programs for the California-based Vote Solar
Initiative
Sacramento, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] California may be home to 80 percent of the U.S. solar market but with current incentives dwindling, advocates and the industry alike were buoyed this week by legislative action to promote solar. California's State Senate overwhelmingly passed SB 1, the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, propelling the comprehensive solar policy package to the full state Assembly with strong bi-partisan and public support.
The bill, co-authored by Senators Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) and John
Campbell (R-Orange County) and strongly endorsed by Governor Schwarzenegger,
cleared this first major hurdle on Thursday by a vote of 28 to 3.
SB1 would create a ten-year program of incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV)
systems with the goal of installing one million solar systems throughout the
state while leading to a self-sufficient solar industry. The program would
result in 3000 MW of solar systems in California, producing enough renewable
electricity equivalent to the output of 60 peaking power plants.
Unlike last year's plan, which failed to pass on razor-thin margins, the
Governor's new Million Solar Roofs Initiative does away with a mandatory
requirement that all California builders include solar energy systems on all new
homes. Instead, this year's bill focuses on ensuring long term stability for
solar through a guarantee of declining buy-down rebates for no less than 10
years. And home builders are simply required to offer solar as an option to the
homeowner, and not necessarily to include a system on every home.
Besides such improvements over last year's legislation, vigorous public support
is also playing an even stronger role in this bill's steady advance.
"We have a coalition of 14 groups that sent email outreach which produced
of 5000 emails into the Senate and I think that's really critical in the
momentum we're seeing now," said David Hochschild, Director of Programs for
the California-based Vote Solar Initiative. "Each successive piece of solar
legislation is gathering more support."
Hochschild explained that the push for AB 58, a net-metering piece of
legislation, came up in 2002, it was considered a marginal issues with little
more than the solar industry, Vote Solar and a handful of others behind the
bill. This year, not only is the prominent Governor behind the bill, but there's
been a relative groundswell of support from the public, grassroots
organizations, a chorus of prominent organizations like the Union of Concerned
Scientists and the Sierra Club -- even celebrities like Robert Redford and
Edward Norton.
"We're hoping for a 'perfect storm' this summer of public outreach,"
Hochschild said. "I'm very encouraged by this as it will send the bill to
the Assembly with a lot more momentum."
(In full disclosure, it should be noted that RenewableEnergyAccess.com was
involved in the outreach and support for SB 1 through the new RE Action
Network.)
Funding for the incentives is unlikely to come from the state's ailing budget
but from a small fee added to ratepayer electric bills. The Public Utilities
Commission would ultimately decide how to arrange the funding mechanism.
Solar PV power production coincides perfectly when the power grid is most
stressed by overall demand. The Million Solar Roofs Initiative focuses on
lowering this peak electricity demand, and therefore solar thermal (solar
hot-water) technologies are not included in SB1 as proposed. Despite occasional
calls for a more comprehensive bill to include their technology, the
solar thermal industry has not been particularly vocal.
According to Bernadette Del Chiaro, Clean Energy Advocate with Environment
California, opposition to the Million Solar Roofs bill on the Senate Floor
focused on the retail price of solar power, a distributed generation technology
owned by the end users, compared with conventional, wholesale central-station
power plants.
"Opponents to SB 1 are comparing apples to oranges," Del Chiaro said.
"The cost of solar power should always be compared with retail electric
rates - what we as consumers avoid having to pay when we own a solar system -
not wholesale power available to utility companies and then marked up for a
profit."
A recent report (see link below) spearheaded by Americans for Solar Power (ASPv),
looks at solar's value in terms of mitigating peak demand and offering ratepayer
based power. The report specifically quantifies 14 key areas where solar
photovoltaic (PV) power provides added value to ratepayers, the electric grid
and even to utilities, which are typically hostile to solar.
For example, solar PV is worth an additional 3.24 to 9.71 cents / kWh when
factoring in the avoided generation cost of natural gas -- the increasingly
expensive fuel that is primarily used in California's peak demand, or "peaker",
power plants. Also, the value that PV helps utilities avoid for operations and
maintenance of their traditional generation is in the range of 0.19 to 0.44
cents / kWh. In all, the ASPv study identified 14 value figures equaling a total
range of additional PV value between 7.8 to 22.4 cents / kWh.
With this week's successful vote in the State Senate, the Million Solar Roofs
bill advances to the California Assembly, with a hearing in Assembly Utilities
Committee later in June. The bill will have to pass additional committees along
with an overall floor vote and a Senate reconciliation vote.
Please Note: RenewableEnergyAccess.com and Arizonaenergy.org do not endorse the sites behind these links. We offer them for your additional research. Following these links will open a new browser window.
Copyright © 1999 - 2005 - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
Please visit www.RenewableEnergyAccess.com for great coverage on energy today!!