By Greentech Lead America: The Los Angeles City Council
has approved the plans for CLEAN LA Solar program. With this clearance,
Department of Water and Power can now move forward with the groundbreaking
rooftop solar-energy program.
With this program, local property owners can sell solar
power generated from rooftops and parking lots back to the DWP, using a
mechanism called a feed-in tariff, or FiT. The program will supply renewable
energy at a reasonable cost while spurring private investment, creating
high-quality jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and helping the state and
city meet renewable power requirements.
Research conducted by the Los Angeles Business Council
(LABC) and the LABC Institute has demonstrated that enacting the full CLEAN LA
Solar program, which includes a 150-megawatt FiT, will create 4,500 jobs,
generate $500 million in economic activity and offset 2.25 million tons of
carbon dioxide emissions by 2016.
“It’s time we start using one of Los Angeles’ most
abundant resources — sunshine. By using our resources wisely, we have the
potential to lead the nation in solar power. Rooftop solar in Los Angeles can
create significant amounts of clean energy and support thousands of good jobs
in the process,” said Mayor Villaraigosa.
The CLEAN LA program will incentivize clean-energy
production within city limits by taking advantage of L.A.’s vast, underused
rooftop space. The result will be more efficient power delivery and meaningful
local jobs in such areas such as solar sales, installation and maintenance.
The first 75 megawatts of the full program are expected
to come on line this year, with an additional 75 megawatts expected by 2016. A
full 150-megawatt FiT program is expected to power the equivalent of 34,000
L.A. homes.