LOS ANGELES—After three years, the Million Solar Roofs bill, SB
1, authored by Senator Kevin Murray, was signed into law this morning by
Governor Schwarzenegger at a ceremony held at the new solar powered CalTrans
building in downtown Los Angeles.
“Turning the vision of building
a million solar roofs into state law has been a long-time coming,” said
Bernadette Del Chiaro, Clean Energy Advocate with Environment California, the
leading sponsor of the Million Solar Roofs bill. “But in the end, this law was
worth the wait and the fight that it took to turn a great idea into a landmark
law.”
SB 1 compliments the
California Solar Initiative established by the Public Utilities Commission in
January and puts California
on track toward building a million solar roofs in the next ten years. The main
components of the bill include:
a) Increasing the
cap on net metering—a program that allows solar customers to get a credit on
their electric bill for excess power generated by their solar system. SB 1
increases the cap from 0.5% of a utility’s total load to 2.5% enabling
approximately 500,000 new solar system owners into the net metering program.
b) Mandating that
solar panels become a standard option for all new homebuyers, enabling new home
buyers to choose to add solar panels to their new home while it is being
constructed. The bill also directs the California Energy Commission to
determine if and when solar power should be mandated on new construction as a
standard, non-optional feature.
c) Requiring that the
state’s municipal utilities create their own solar rebate program, totaling
$800 million in rebate funds to drive municipal utility ratepayers toward solar
power.
d) Directing the
California State Licensing Board to review current licensing requirements for
solar installers and determine whether or not they are adequately trained to
install the million solar roofs expected to be built as a result of this
program.
“With this new law, California is on pace to becoming the Saudi Arabia of the sun,” said Del
Chiaro. “The sky is no limit when it comes to how much of our energy can come
from solar power. With high energy prices, rolling blackouts, and growing air
pollution problems, everyone in California
will benefit from the building of a million solar roofs in the next ten years.”
SB 1 will take affect January 1, 2007.
