The U.S. Government is taking recourse to the Million Solar Roof as an initiative to lower the usage of fossil fuels and the generation of green house gases which heat up the earth, leading to erratic climates and rise in water levels. Concluding a two-year effort to help make California the nation’s leader in solar energy, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed SB 1 by Senator Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles). The goal of the ‘Million Solar Roofs Initiative’ is to install both PV and solar thermal systems on one million buildings across the US by 2010. Needless to mention, it was an uphill task to influence the private industries to agree to the program.
“When I ran for governor, I vowed to make the environment the centerpiece of my administration and turn back the clock on pollution. My Million Solar Roofs Plan will provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gasses by 3 million tons which is like taking one million cars off the road. I want to thank Sen. Kevin Murray for his hard work in helping me make California the leader on solar power again.”
The current implementation of the Million Solar Roofs plan only applies to customers of Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric. SB 1 expands the program to customers of the municipal-owned utilities such as SMUD and LADWP. In pursing the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, the Department of Energy hopes to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. If a million solar platforms are put up, the pollutant savings will be equivalent to the emissions produced by over 800,000 cars each year.
The US Department of Energy is to provide US$1.5 million to state and local agencies to install PV systems. California just went forward with a 3.2 billion dollar rebate program on it’s own. Finally, the federal government is now providing solar platform loans as part of mortgage packages through entities such as Fannie Mae and FHA.
With this initiative, California has linked its efforts to Germany’s and Japan’s solar mobilization programs.
Via: Edsharpsite
