In
August 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger Announced Million
Homes Solar Plan. The program is designed to encourage
installation of solar panel systems in one million
homes over the next 13 years.
Benefits of the Plan
• help the environment
• offers homebuyers more choices
• saves homebuyers and all ratepayers money
• contributes to a more stable energy market
• will establish California as a world leader
in solar technology
• create new jobs
• encourage new manufacturing within the state
• will mean substantial energy savings for the
state during peak demand periods
• will contribute to a more diversified energy
portfolio for California. More sources mean more stability
• is projected to save California 2700 megawatts
of peaking power, and offset more than 50 million
tons of CO2, the annual equivalent emission of 400,000
vehicles
Savings for homeowners
The plan will provide significant long-term savings
for homeowners. For a homebuyer who finances the system
as part of a new home mortgage, their electricity
savings could actually be more than the system's portion
of their regular mortgage payment. Incentives for
existing home owners will be available through the
CEC. It also allows additional incentives for solar
systems on affordable housing.
For the next several years, the plan
is fully funded by existing sources. It does not allow
any new charges to come out of ratepayers' pockets
without a review by the Public Utilities Commission
and approval by the legislature.
Key Components - How It Works
• The California Energy Commission (CEC) will
initially offer homeowners incentives for both new and
retrofit applications
• Starting in 2008, home builders will offer solar
panels as one of the options for new homes in California.
This will apply to every subdivision with 25 homes or
more
• The same way they receive savings and cost estimates
for major appliances, buyers will be presented with
an estimate of the costs and savings that come with
installing a home solar system
• Customers who install the system will pay a
time-of-use rate, increasing their savings further
• Customers will sell back excess electricity
to the electrical utility at retail prices
• The program includes investor-owned and municipal
utilities
San Jose MLS Search 