As if Los Angeles needed another reason for bragging. It’s now home to the nation’s largest urban rooftop solar energy program, and it could make you money while helping to support clean energy initiatives in the state.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the program, called Clean L.A. Solar, makes it possible for Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power to now pay its customers if they generate solar energy via rooftop solar panels.
The Los Angeles Business Council is the driving force behind the program, and hopes that it will generate 150 megawatts of solar energy, “enough to power about 30,000 homes,” reports the Times. “The council hopes to attract investments totaling $500 million from a growing list of companies that want to invest in L.A.’s push to go green by setting up large clusters of rooftop solar panels.” And the solar energy program hopes to expand, rapidly. “Clean L.A. Solar proponents have their sights set high, aiming to expand the initial 150-megawatt goal over the next several years to 600 megawatts.”
The move comes as a result of the state’s mandate to generate 33 percent of its electricity through renewable resources by 2020. If everything goes smoothly, the Clean L.A. Solar program should help the city reach 25 percent of that goal by 2016. As well, the program will create more than 4,000 jobs for Angelinos.
Another benefit of the program is that it could also be extremely helpful to the city’s lower income neighborhoods. Some of the city’s poorest areas also have the highest amount of light available, making homes in those neighborhoods prime candidates for solar rooftops.
The program will pay 17 cents per kilowatt-hour initially, decreasing to 14 cents, according to the Times.
Related articles
3 Mega Tech Companies Building Super Green Headquarters
Solar Impulse Plane Completes First Cross-Country Trip Powered by the Sun
Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger
Image: hsld
The post The City of Angels Launches Largest Solar Energy Rooftop Program (And it Pays) appeared first on EcoSalon.
