June 11, 2008

San Francisco, CA. USA: Board of Supervisors Passes Solar Incentive Plan

A ten-year solar incentive program passed out of the Board of Supervisors yesterday and now just needs approval of the Mayor to pass in to law.

The Solar Energy Incentive Program is expected to be operational in the coming weeks with an initial budget of $3 million which is planned to result in 1.5 MW of solar. The program will is intended to reduce the cost to install solar panels on residential and commercial properties.

A one-year pilot program would budget $1.5 million to buildings owned and operated by nonprofit organizations and low-income single and multifamily residential applicants.

The program will fund solar incentives ranging from $3,000-$6,000 for residents, up to $10,000 for businesses that install solar and up to $30,000 for non-profit affordable housing.

Phil Ting, the City Assessor, “Today San Francisco has taken a big step forward towards addressing climate change and becoming more energy independent. I am thrilled that legislation co-sponsored by myself and Supervisor Dufty to create the Solar Energy Incentive Program, the nation’s largest municipal solar program, was finally passed upon second reading by the Board of Supervisors. After a six-month long effort there is now a long-term commitment to incentivizing solar rooftop installations in the city.

"I would like to thank Mayor Newsom, the San Francisco Solar Task Force, the SF Public Utilities Commission, the SF Department of the Environment, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, the Sierra Club, Vote Solar, SPUR and many other environmental advocacy groups for working so hard to make this program a reality. I am also pleased that financial incentives will be provided to low-income San Franciscans and nonprofits through a complementary one-year pilot program based on initial approval today of Supervisor Mirkarimi’s legislation.”