Schwarzenegger solar plan for California

The Schwarzenegger Administration is working to protect and restore California's air, water, and landscapes with the following initiatives:

Cut Air Pollution Statewide by Up to 50%
Restore Independence From Foreign Oil.
Breathing clean and healthy air is a right of all Californians, especially our children, whose health suffers disproportionately when our air is polluted. The future health of California's environment and economy depend on our taking action now.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that as Governor, he will:
Solve California's Electrical Energy Crisis.

An unreliable energy system discourages businesses from locating or even remaining in California, resulting in lost jobs and state revenues, I will take action to prevent brownouts or blackouts, such as those experienced during the Davis Administration in California and this year on the East Coast. Almost one third of California's entire in-state generation base is over 40 years old. I will immediately lay the groundwork to expand the state's power supplies, with special emphasis on clean, renewable sources, through the following steps:

Promote Solar and Renewables. Increase California's use of solar power in cooperation with developers, the Building Industry Association, labor, community organizations, and bi-partisan state legislators to provide incentives for new homes built in California to include solar photovoltaics (PV). The goal of this program would be that, starting in 2005, 50% of new homes would include solar PV. As Governor I will also support the extension of tax credits for businesses and commercial establishments which install on-grid solar photovoltaic and other renewable generation systems.

Increase Renewable Energy. As Governor, I will fully endorse California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires that 20% of the state's total power supplies be generated from renewable sources by 2017. My Administration will also direct the California Energy Commission to define incentives and implement strategies that will target achievement of the 20% standard a full seven years early - - by 2010 - - and set the state on course to derive 33% of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

In the press release, Schwarzenegger also unveiled his Million Homes Plan, a program to encourage installation of solar panel systems in one million homes over the next 13 years.

The Million Homes Plan is aimed at helping the environment, offering homebuyers more choices, saving them and all ratepayers money, and contributing to a more stable energy market.

The press release from the Governor's office says the program will establish California as a world leader in solar technology, create new jobs, and encourage new manufacturing within the state. It will mean substantial savings for the state during peak demand periods. Stable market The plan will contribute to a more diversified energy portfolio for California. More sources mean more stability.

The program is projected to save California 2700 Megawatts of peaking power, and offset more than 50 million tons of CO2, the annual equivalent emission of 400,000 vehicles.

The Adminsitration says that the plan will provide significant long-term savings for homeowners. For a homebuyer who finances the system as part of a new home mortgage, their electricity savings could actually be more than the system's portion of their regular mortgage payment. Incentives for existing home owners will be available through the CEC. It also allows additional incentives for solar systems on affordable housing.

For the next several years, the plan is fully funded by existing sources. It does not allow any new charges to come out of ratepayers' pockets without a review by the Public Utilities Commission and approval by the legislature.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) will initially offer homeowners incentives for both new and retrofit applications. Starting in 2008, home builders will offer solar panels as one of the options for new homes in California. This will apply to every subdivision with 25 homes or more. The same way they receive savings and cost estimates for major appliances, buyers will be presented with an estimate of the costs and savings that come with installing a home solar system. Customers who install the system will pay a time-of-use rate, increasing their savings further. Customers will sell back excess electricity to the electrical utility at retail prices. The program includes investor-owned and municipal utilities.

While the Governor's Plan is substantially different from that proposed by the California EPA in recent weeks, industry reaction, to date, suggests this is a positive first step toward sustaining the important Californian residential solar photovoltaic market segment.

Many of the detailed elements of the plan are still being worked by the Californian Solar Energy Industries Association in co-operation with the Governor's office and the California Legislature. These will define the funding implications of the plan and the criteria for the qualification of PV systems.