California Passes Pivotal Solar Energy Bill
Sacramento, California - October 17, 2003 [SolarAccess.com] In a move sure to bring certainty and continued growth to the California solar energy industry, outgoing Governor Gray Davis signed legislation last Sunday that will extend the state's Self-Generation Incentive Program through the end of 2007. The program has been critical to the growth of solar power in the state, and was set to expire at the end of 2004.
Bi-partisan state legislators united weeks earlier to pass the legislation, Assembly Bill 1685, authored by Assembly Member Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) that allocates approximately US$500 million through 2007 for businesses and local governments to install distributed electricity generation.
Over the past two years, 70 percent of these funds have funded solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. PV is the fastest growing energy source in California, increasing 65 percent per year since 1995.
"California's investment in PV will provide: clean electricity, jobs, sales tax revenues, peak demand reduction, reduced reliance on natural gas, increased price stability in electric and gas rates, and grid stability improvements. California will continue its investment and leadership in PV," said Jan McFarland, Executive Director of the California Solar Energy Industry Association (CalSEIA).
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