SACRAMENTO—Yesterday, at a workshop held at the Department of Water Resources, the agency used to bail out California during the energy crisis, a representative of the California Environmental Protection Agency announced a "Million Solar Homes Initiative" to achieve Governor Schwarzenegger's promise of building half of all new homes with solar power. The policy aims to reduce peak energy demand while bringing cleaner energy to the state.

"The goal is to build more solar homes and by all measures this proposal would put us on the right path in a very bold way," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate for Environment California, a non-profit environmental group that is sponsor of the Solar Homes Bill, SB 1652 (Murray). "This proposal is strong because it combines incentives with mandates. The question at this point is whether the governor is "manly-man" enough to adopt this as his own or, better yet, come out with something even stronger in time to meet legislative deadlines."

The CalEPA proposal contains three main components:

1. A new $100 million per year fund to lower the cost of solar systems for future homeowners over 10 years and costing the average ratepayer approximately 25-30 cents per month;
2. A lift on the current net metering cap to five percent peak energy demand allowing homeowners to sell excess electricity back to the grid; and,
3. A mandate on builders that begins with five percent in 2010 and reaches 50 percent by 2020 meant to provide a backstop should incentives fail to work in the early years.

According to administration sources, Governor Schwarzenegger has yet to approve this plan. In anticipation of these announcements, Environment California ran a political ad yesterday in the Los Angeles Times calling on the governor to keep his promise to build half of all new homes with solar power. The ad campaign was financed largely by small contributions from more than 400 residents throughout the state and is counter to the opposition to solar homes policies led by California's building industry.

"This political ad shows how deeply Californians want the governor to come through on his promise to build solar homes," said Del Chiaro. "Ultimately we hope the governor will play the role of the action hero standing up to powerful special interests and putting his muscle into policies, such as the one unveiled today, that will truly bring us solar homes."

The plan comes after the Solar Homes Bill, SB 1652 authored by state Senator Kevin Murray (D-LA) and sponsored by Environment California, has moved swiftly through the state Legislature passing the Senate in May and the Assembly Housing Committee in June. The bill heads to Assembly Appropriations next where it must be considered on either August 4th or August 11th. This bill would require that 15 percent of all new homes built in 2006 come with a two-kilowatt system which would double California's solar market, already third in the world, and ramping up by 10 percent each year until 55 percent is reached in 2010.

In contrast, the administration proposal announced yesterday anticipates that incentives will result in 40 percent of all new homes will be built with solar panels by 2010 and 50 percent by 2013. The backstop measure would ensure that 50 percent is achieved by 2020 should the incentives fail to bring about solar homes.

More information on SB 1652 as well as CalEPA's proposal can be found at www.environmentcalifornia.org.