LOS ANGELES, Nov 24, 2008
Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Monday unveiled an ambitious plan
that calls for installing solar panels on residents' rooftops to meet 10
percent of the city's energy needs by the year 2020.
"Our solar initiative is the largest of any kind anywhere in the world. When
it takes full effect, L.A. will have 1,280 megawatts more capacity -- more
than exists in the entire United States today," said the mayor.
Utility officials say that the energy plan, Solar LA, is expected to cost
each Los Angeles resident an additional 2 dollars a month once it is
complete. Details of the plan, including a cost estimate, will come up over
the next 90 days.
The framework of the plan calls for 380 megawatts of power to be generated
from solar panels installed on residents' rooftops and through the SunShares
Program, which would allow customers to purchase shares of a city solar
power plant in exchange for credits on their energy bills.
Another 500 megawatts of energy would come from utility-scale solar power
projects that would feed into two transmission stations run by the city's
Department of Water and Power.
The third part of the plan calls for 400 megawatts to be generated from
solar systems installed on the rooftops of city- owned property. The
project, with a cost between 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to 3 billion dollars,
is slated for completion in 2014.
"The L.A. solar plan represents the generation of renewable energy in Los
Angeles, by Los Angeles and for Los Angeles," said David Nahai, general
manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Nahai said that the plan opens up the door of Los Angeles to the solar
industry like no other market, and he hoped the solar industry would in turn
reciprocate by bringing the prices down.
Currently only less than 1 percent of the city's energy supplies comes from
solar, while coal and natural gas resources account for 76 percent of the
energy produced by the utility.
According to the mayor's office, every 10 megawatts of solar power could
potentially create 200 to 400 jobs.
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