PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

The case for including PV on new housing in California

It is no coincidence that Environment California, an influential active research and policy center in the state, in December came out with an analysis called The Economics of Solar Homes. The timing of the report, focused mostly on new housing, put it just ahead of the reintroduction of a solar plan intended to garner 10 years of security for the state's PV industry – Senate Bill 1 (see article, p. 20). This is basically the same bill that stalled in the last legislative session, a measure that needs all the support it can muster if it is to finally pass.


Dear Legislator: Report targets wavering California policymakers ahead of solar vote.

The 28-page report, subtitled How Residential Photovoltaic Incentives Can Pay Off for Homeowners and the Public, reads like a checklist for wavering legislators to win their backing for SB 1 by concentrating on what the financial benefits of proper PV subsidies could mean for the state economy if California would make a concerted effort to solarize new housing. It also ties in well with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign promise of putting solar on the roofs of half of the state's new builds. In addition to listing the societal advantages of PV, the report takes a crack at examining the benefits of PV systems in several scenarios for the future of electricity costs.

While most of the advantages refer to consumers, the report gives a nod to the jobs such support would create in manufacturing, leading to »significant revenues from exporting solar technology throughout the United States and the world.« If California finally passes a solar bill in this session, give part of the credit to this timely PV primer for undecided state legislators.

To download the report, go to: http://environmentcalifornia.org/reports/
economicssolarhomes.pdf