| California Senate Passes
Million Solar Roofs Bill
California's Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1 (Murray), passed the
California senate floor earlier this week by a vote of 36 to 4. The bill
has now moved to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for up or down
approval. “With this bill California can get busy building a million solar roofs,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate for Environment California. “It has been an incredibly long haul for this particular bill and we, first and foremost, commend Senator Murray for tirelessly championing it for the past three years.” The Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1, contains three main policies intended to accompany the California Solar Initiative established by the California Public Utilities Commission in January. The main policies contained in SB 1 include: --Lift on net metering cap enabling solar system owners to receive a credit on their electric bill for excess energy generated by their solar system. Current law caps the number of customers in each utility territory to 0.5 percent of a utility’s total load. SB 1 would lift this cap to 2.5 percent. An estimated 5 percent lift is ultimately needed to build a million solar roofs in California. --Mandate that all home builders, by 2011, make solar panels a standard option for homebuyers, just like marble countertops. The bill would also direct the California Energy Commission to convene a proceeding to determine if and when solar power should become a standard feature of new construction. --Sets a goal that California’s municipal utilities, such as Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, adopt their own solar rebate program totaling $800 million. The California Public Utilities Commission does not have legal authority over the municipal utilities so legislation is needed to create a statewide solar rebate program. In creating this goal, SB 1 would remove $800 million from the $3.2 billion in the PUC’s California Solar Initiative, lowering total available funds in investor-owned utility territory to $2.4 billion. Should SB 1 become law, it, combined with the PUC’s California Solar Initiative, would make California the creator of the largest solar program in the country, with the aim to build 3,000 MW of solar power--the equivalent of six large power plants--on homes, businesses, farms and schools throughout the state. “Solar power is the wave of the future,” said Del Chiaro. “Thanks to this bill and the efforts of many, California can become the Saudi Arabia of the sun.” SB 1 received strong bi-partisan support from the entire California Senate, with all 25 Democrats voting in favor of the bill and 11 of the 15 Republicans voting for the bill as well.
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