Schwarzenegger signs solar power bill (Million Solar Roofs)

[jpak]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-08-21T183641Z_01_N21135076_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-CALIFORNIA-SOLAR.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-politicsNews-3

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed into law a bill that aims to make the state one of the world's biggest producers of solar energy.

The bill, which cleared the state Senate last week, calls for the installation of 1 million rooftop solar panels on homes, businesses, farms, schools and public buildings by 2018.

The solar systems would generate 3,000 megawatts of power and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 3 million tons, equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the state's highways and making California the third biggest solar producer after Japan and Germany.

The new law requires home builders to offer solar power to home buyers beginning in 2011 and allows utility customers who place panels on their homes or businesses to sell excess power back to their utility.

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[MADem]

1. Well, good for him!

The steroid-laced putz has done a good thing, and I applaud the effort.

[AX10]

2. This is all part of his scheme to get another term.

He is NOT a moderate.

[Oerdin]

3. Read the fine print.

This is just a modest tax incentive which replaces an outgoing tax incentive which is about to expire. There is nothing new here. The last round of tax incentives hasn't really done much other then add a few panels at the margins. I see no reason why this version of the same tax plan will result in anything different.

[Dead_Parrot]

4. 3GW by 2018?

Err, is that impressive? Compared to the ~50GW CA eats at peak every day, I mean. At that rate, they'll be enviromentally friendly by 2198 AD. Or underwater.

Does this include the, err, huge amounts for all that renewably generated hydrogen, BTW?

[bananas]

5. You'll be underwater

A lot of the California coastline is mountain, ever drive along U.S. 1?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_1

[Dead_Parrot]

6. Actually, by 2198, I'll be underground...

...unless my kid(s) push my corpse out in a burning longboat. :evilgrin:

[jpak]

7. Only 3 GW???

I would wager much more than that by 2018.

Similar programs in Japan and Germany were wildly popular and exceeded their goals rather quickly. Germany's modest program morphed into a juggernaut - they are going to install a very large fraction of a GW of new PV this year alone (more than 800 MW). Japan will have PV on 50% of their homes by 2030.

The current ($2.8 billion) CA PUC solar program is oversubscribed and exceeded its annual goals in the first few months. The CA legislature had to up the limits on net metering earlier this year so more homes could connect to the grid.

And when Dems take back Congress this fall - only good things will happen with solar energy on the national scale.

[Dead_Parrot]

8. Shrug... Just quoting your OP. nt.