Levine Measure to Expand the Use of Solar Power in California Clears State Assembly

SACRAMENTO – By a 55 to 12 vote, the California State Assembly today passed legislation by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) that would help finance the upfront costs for solar power and other energy efficiency improvements by authorizing cities to provide low interest loans to property owners with long-term repayments added to their annual property tax bills.

Assembly Bill 811 stipulates that homeowners and small businesses wishing to participate in the program would only be required to repay the cost of their project plus a small fee to administer the program. Under the bill, a city could provide funding for projects from a bond or a loan that would be repaid through voluntary fees on participating owners’ annual property tax bills. 

“This measure is vital for California’s energy future because solar power produces the most energy on the days of the year we most need electricity,” said Assemblymember Levine, who serves as Chair of the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee. “If we can place solar panels on more homes and businesses across the state we will dramatically reduce strain on the grid on the hottest days of the summer and reduce the price spikes in electricity associated with those hot days.

“This is why the Legislature, the Governor, and the PUC created the California Solar Initiative,” Levine continued. “With a little help to create a larger market for solar power today, the entire solar industry should be able to lower costs and become self sufficient within 10 years. At that point we should have 3000 MW of solar capacity online in the state. And on a hot day, those solar megawatts could be the difference between the lights staying on and rolling blackouts.”

In 2006, the Legislature approved Senate Bill 1 (Murray/Levine) Chapter 132, Statutes of 2006. SB 1 was the final piece needed for the state to implement the California Solar Initiative (CSI), a program to place 3,000 megawatts of solar electricity in California by 2017. The CSI provides property owners financial incentives to offset the costs of solar electricity in the early years of the program. The money available for distribution decreases each year until the funds are exhausted in 2017. The goal of the CSI is to help establish the solar industry in California, so that when the CSI ends the solar industry can remain cost-effective without the need for government subsidies.  

While the CSI and other federal subsidies have made solar power more affordable, these incentives only offset a portion of the upfront costs of installation. Although, over time solar pays for itself, property owners who want to invest in the technology today continue to struggle to pay for its high initial cost.

AB 811 is needed to ensure that all cities and counties in California have the authority to carry out a financing program to pay for solar power and other energy efficiency improvements through voluntary fees on owners’ properties. Last November, Berkeley’s City Council approved a plan similar to this bill. Soon after that, city officials from San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, and Palm Desert looked into creating similar programs.

Assembly Bill 811 will next be heard in the Senate.