Majari Magazine

Solar LA: USA’s Largest Solar Energy Plan

by Anita Pravitasari on 01/02/09 at 10:46 pm | No Comment | |

California is taking environment and energy issue to the next level with a project that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Jan Perry and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) are sponsoring called Solar LA. It’s an ambitious long-range plan for turning the 276 days of sunshine in Los Angeles by installing a 1.3 gigawatts solar network of residential, commercial and municipally-owned solar energy systems. The plan would create the largest solar base of any city in the world.

“It is time that we use our most abundant natural resource to create the electricity and the jobs we need for our future,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “Today, we are turning up the heat and taking the next step to become a shining example of green growth worldwide.”

The Solar LA plan consists of three primary components: first one is the programs to boost residential and commercial customer solar systems; second one will be the LADWP-owned solar projects in Los Angeles; and the third one will be the large-scale solar projects owned by the LADWP outside of the LA basin.

By 2020, LA will generate a tenth of Los Angeles’ power through solar energy.  The sprawling city would purchase 1,280 megawatts of solar power. About 500 megawatts would come from private generating plants in the Mojave Desert, a further 380 megawatts would come from Expand Residential Program, using to $313 million in State funds for solar projects that offer rebates programs to encourage residents to install solar panels on their roofs. Plus, there will be low interest loans while low income communities will be provide with free systems. While another 400 megawatts would come from panels on city-owned buildings.

The plan also calls for a new feed-in-tariff (FiT) that would allow solar developers in the City to sell power directly to LAWDP through a long-term contract.

“Solar LA serves as more than a blueprint to a greener LADWP,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “By sparking a broad movement to solar energy across a city of 4 million residents, we are priming the pump for Los Angeles to become a world leader in the solar industry and delivering on the vision of re-making Los Angeles into the cleanest, greenest big city in America.”

The mayor also believes that Solar LA will bring economic opportunity to the city. The plan includes research and development, manufacturing and warehouse operations. It’s a sure thing that new jobs will be created in the field of green-tech.

If everything goes well, this will set a green-trend for other cities to follow. If you think about it, having solar power in a city like LA, solves the energy and public health problems facing cities throughout the country. All walks of life will benefit from LA’s solar power plan, and that includes Villaraigosa’s. It’s a smart political move and the mayor knows it.

Reference: The Los Angeles Solar Energy Plan (lacity_004982.pdf)