More Incentives for California Solar

In a solar initiative that promises to have Solano Beach, California residents dancing in the streets, the city of Solano has become the first city in the region to institute a solar energy financing program that allows homeowners to install solar panels without forking out the entire cost upfront.

It is the third program in the state to offer this kind of incentive, which allows residents and small business owners to pay for alternative energy systems over two decades via their property tax payments.

The downside is that the installations incur interest. The upside is a full, 20-year deferral of what might otherwise be an insurmountable cost for most homeowners in the middle of what economists are calling the worst recession since the end of World War Two.

This newest initiative puts the small community of Solano Beach head and shoulders above San Diego, where officials have announced similar programs but haven’t moved ahead.

Berkeley and Palm Desert, on the other hand, are neck-and-neck with Solano, with financing plans in place. The three, and other communities, are pushing legislation and financing in order to take advantage of Assembly Bill 811, passed in July of 2008, which authorizes cities and counties to establish long-term payment plans for alternative energy resources.

Because programs like the one in Solano Beach are being financed through bonds, the city won’t even be on the hook for the debt. Other cities are looking at financing through President Obama’s Green Energy Plan, also known as the stimulus package and the American Recovery and Reinvestment plan.

The 811 bill, initiated by Assembly member Lloyd Levine (D- Van Nuys) and passed by an overwhelming 55 to 12 majority, tacks on only a “small fee” for loan administration, and allows homeowners to transfer the loan for its full 20-year period if the home is sold.

What does this work out to in actual dollars? According to Rachel Laing, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders spokesperson, a homeowner could end up paying as little as $135.68 per month for a $30,000 system by using available state and federal rebates. Laing is assuming a seven-percent interest rate on the loan. Palm Desert has described the rate as “exceptional”, and Santa Rosa, which proposes participating, has already drafted a proposal which caps interest rate at 12 percent. Other cities and municipalities have not been quite as specific.

Participating cities will use the program as a tool to meet their carbon emissions reduction goals, according to Andrew McAllister, director of programs at the California Center for Sustainable Energy. California’s goals – reiterated at the Global Climate Summit on November 18 and 19, where the state pledged to work with Brazil and Indonesia – are already among the most stringent in the country.

“I think this is a game-changer as far as getting over the initial cost barrier for solar.” McAllister observed.

I would tend to agree. In fact, if I could afford to, I’d move to California just to take advantage of the offer.

Solano Beach Council members will reportedly start accepting applications by summer. Out of a city of 13,500 residents, approximately 3,900 homes and 1,200 businesses are eligible, according to estimates. The city is even considering extending the plan to condos and townhouses.

For more information on this plan, as well as various renewable sources of energy, go to the Center for Sustainable Energy California’s home page. If you live in a sponsoring California city and want to know who to contact for installation, visit Cooler Planet’s solar resource page and ask for a bid.

With solar panel prices falling, and incentives as promising as this, there has never been a better time to go solar.