Posted: Friday, Jul 2nd, 2010
BY: Aaron Crutchfield
The San Luis Obispo County civil grand jury is urging the county and cities within to recognize that the time is now to make investments in solar power that will pay dividends in jobs and energy savings for years to come.
“The local governments of San Luis Obispo County could find great advantages in cooperating on an aggressive solar power initiative,” the grand jury said in a new report issued recently. “Sunlight is abundant, particularly in the northern and inland reaches of the county. Investment now in solar facilities for public buildings could pay dividends for years. Funds and incentives are being made available to encourage individual homeowners to install rooftop solar. The creative mindset of local business leaders has been successful in taking advantage of the growing interest locally, nationally and worldwide in so-called ‘green jobs.’”
The grand jury noted the two large-scale solar power projects proposed for the Carrisa Plains, pointing out the area’s abundant sunshine, sparse population and low agricultural value, as well as the jobs and property tax revenue created. However, those projects are controversial, with opponents pointing out some 70 rare and potentially endangered species of animals that live in the area and that the area is the last of the native California grasslands.
Meanwhile, the grand jury notes, there are 114,000 single-family homes in SLO County. In 2009, there were 214 applications received for solar installations, with 167 applications in 2008.
The report points out that Germany, a country fairly close to the Arctic Circle, now generates more than half the world’s solar power and has made itself the world center for solar research, engineering, manufacturing and installation. Germany has a solar capacity of more than five gigawatts, and the solar investment has created thousands of jobs there.
In 2008, the California legislature passed AB 811 to enable voluntary property-based financing for energy-saving improvements to help overcome the upfront cost. Property owners can enter into a plan to finance the installation of rooftop solar panels as well as other energy-efficiency improvements and pay it back on the property tax bill.
According to the grand jury, the price of photovoltaic panels decreased by 15 percent in 2009, but the installation of an average system on a single-family home can still cost $35,000.
But with AB 811 and the CaliforniaFIRST program, the county would have no financial liability and would not need to issue bonds.
“It’s time for cities to join the county in leading this effort,” the grand jury said in the report. “So far, the path has been outlined at the county level but more commitment remains elusive. It is difficult to dispute that any solar development that is economically feasible will produce major job and economic benefits. The environmental problems with the installations on the Carrizo Plain may be able to be mitigated. Certainly compromise could help on both sides of that argument. A county effort to ‘buy down’ the cost of rooftop installations would pay off in jobs and very possibly in future energy savings for taxpayers as a whole.”
Among the grand jury’s findings are that many government buildings, parking structures and schools are candidates for rooftop solar, the Carrisa Plains solar installations would provide significant property tax revenue and contribute toward the renewable energy requirement for the county, the first steps toward energy efficiency should start with the retrofit of pre-1990 homes and buildings, and outreach and support by the county for AB 811 is essential to make retrofit and rooftop solar a viable option.
The grand jury recommends that the County Board of Supervisors and city councils should actively promote and implement the AB 811 retrofit and rooftop solar program; the county and cities should use the media to educate and encourage local residences and businesses to invest in solar power; the county and cities should inventory all government building rooftops as potential sites for solar installation the Board of Supervisors should use grant funds to make AB811 projects more affordable, such as paying for audits or “buying down” interest rates; and the Board of Supervisors should create a new position in the county to be responsible for all renewable energy programs.
For the complete article see the 07-02-2010 issue.
http://www.atascaderonews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=2915
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