Hi Janice,
We Won! Our Million Solar Roofs bill, SB 1, is now state law. This
victory comes after four years of hard work from our staff and activists
like you -- thank you! The new law, along with the Solar Initiative
passed by the Public Utilities Commission in January, will jump start our
program to build a million solar roofs in ten years, making California a
world leader in solar power.
Please take a moment to send an email to Governor Schwarzenegger
thanking him for being a solar champion. Then share the good news with your
friends and family and ask them to do the same.
To take action, click on the link below or paste it into your Web
browser:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/energy/thank-gov?id4=ES
Background:
Four years ago, Environment California launched a first-in-the-nation
campaign to change the way people think about solar power and, in so
doing, make California a world solar power leader. We wanted Californians
to no longer think of solar as an expensive technology for the
backwoods cabin or Malibu mansion but rather see its potential for becoming
cost-effective and commonplace.
Over these past four years, we've worked with state Senator Kevin
Murray (D-Los Angeles), Governor Schwarzenegger and other state leaders on a
number of bills, the highlight of which was SB 1, aimed at
incorporating solar power into new homes, giving consumers and businesses the
financial incentives they need to invest in solar power, and ultimately,
growing California's solar market to the point where economies of scale
can be reached and prices can drop.
In January of this year, we won a major victory when the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) adopted the California Solar Initiative. Mirroring
legislation authored by Senator Murray and sponsored by Environment
California and the Schwarzenegger Administration, the California Solar
Initiative created the nation's biggest program to build a million solar
roofs in ten years.
Specifically, the Initiative created a multi-billion dollar fund for
consumer rebates to lower the cost of solar and grow the market. The goal
of the Initiative is to install 3,000 MW of solar power--the equivalent
of six giant power plants -- on a million rooftops throughout the
state. Achieving such a goal would grow California's solar market 30-fold,
cutting the cost of solar power in half, and ultimately phasing out
subsidies altogether.
As historic as this PUC program is, there were several other necessary
policies that only the state legislature could adopt. These policies
are contained in the Solar Roofs bill, SB 1, which was signed into law by
Gov. Schwarzenegger this Monday, August 21.
To watch the video of the bill signing, go to www.gov.ca.gov.
Specifically, the new law will:
1. Require that all new homebuilders offer solar panels as a standard
home feature.
2. Lift the cap on net metering -- the policy that allows an owner of a
solar system to get a credit on their electric bill for any excess
energy generated by their solar panels -- so that new customers could
benefit from this policy.
3. Require the state's municipal utilities to set up their own Million
Solar Roofs programs locally.
This victory comes after four years of hard work from our staff and
activists like you -- thank you! But we never could have accomplished as
much as we did were it not for the leadership of Senator Murray and,
ultimately, the championship of Governor Schwarzenegger who promised to
make solar power a top priority of his governorship and who has stuck to
this promise by all measures.
Take a moment to send an email to Governor Schwarzenegger thanking him
for being a solar champion. Then share the good news with your friends
and family and ask them to do the same.
To take action click on the link below or paste it into your Web
browser:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/energy/thank-gov?id4=ES
Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.EnvironmentCalifornia.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this
e-mail with your family and friends.
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