NEWSOM, TING, AND SAN FRANCISCO SOLAR TASK FORCE PROPOSE LARGEST SOLAR URBAN U.S. INCENTIVE PROGRAM
California Political Desk
December 12, 2007
San Francisco, CA – In an effort to accelerate the pace of solar installation in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and the San Francisco Solar Task Force announced a package of proposals that will provide direct financial incentives as well as a long-term loans and rebates to homeowners and businesses who want to install solar power. The Solar Incentive (Rebate) Program is an ordinance that makes available $2-5 million per year over ten years for solar incentive payments. The Solar Loan Program is a ballot measure that creates a loan program that homeowners can use to finance the remainder of their solar installations after state and local rebates.
"San Francisco is a national leader in the development of renewable energy on city buildings," said Mayor Newsom. "Providing incentives and loans directly to consumers makes it both easy and cost-effective for residents and businesses to go solar."
"I am proud to help lead efforts to help make San Francisco the solar capitol of the country," said Ting. "I believe our bold solar incentive and loan programs will eventually help put solar on every rooftop in the City."
The financial incentive program addresses one obstacle to going solar for homeowners and businesses – cost. The average residential solar rooftop installation in San Francisco costs approximately $20,000. The proposed local incentive payment - $3,000-$5,000 for residential properties, and up to $10,000 for commercial properties - along with state and federal rebates, would help cut the total cost to the customer almost in half.
This direct incentive model is based on the successful state program in California that has doubled the number of rooftop solar energy systems to 32,000 in just two years.
In addition to proposing a financial incentive, the Mayor´s Office teamed with Ting to initiate the creation of the city's first low-interest renewable energy loan program for solar customers. The city-backed, below-market-rate loans would be paid back to the city in the form of a monthly tax assessment added to the property owner's annual property tax bill. The program will be created via a voter-approved ballot measure to repurpose $50 million in general obligation bonds originally designed for the "Seismic Safety Loan Program" to a solar and other renewable energy loan program.
The Solar Task Force, co-chaired by Ting and David Hochschild, a San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioner, is a coalition representing labor, environmental, the solar industry, and business organizations as well as local and state government. The Solar Task Force was convened in February of 2007 to find innovative solutions to achieving the City and County's 10,000 solar rooftops goal, which was announced in 2000.
"The solar incentive and loan programs will not only make San Francisco the solar capitol of the U.S., they will create hundreds of new green collar jobs for the local economy," said Hochschild.
The financial incentive program would be administered through SFPUC using revenue from the sale of Hetch Hetchy power in the SFPUC´s public utility enterprise. It is a multi-year source of non-General Fund revenue which has traditionally been used to advance alternative energy generation, as well as energy efficiency and conservation. The ordinance as drafted will make $2-5 million available for solar incentives each year for 10 years, beginning in FY 2008-09.
"San Francisco is a national leader in the development of renewable energy on city buildings," said Mayor Newsom. "Providing incentives and loans directly to consumers makes it both easy and cost-effective for residents and businesses to go solar."
"I am proud to help lead efforts to help make San Francisco the solar capitol of the country," said Ting. "I believe our bold solar incentive and loan programs will eventually help put solar on every rooftop in the City."
The financial incentive program addresses one obstacle to going solar for homeowners and businesses – cost. The average residential solar rooftop installation in San Francisco costs approximately $20,000. The proposed local incentive payment - $3,000-$5,000 for residential properties, and up to $10,000 for commercial properties - along with state and federal rebates, would help cut the total cost to the customer almost in half.
This direct incentive model is based on the successful state program in California that has doubled the number of rooftop solar energy systems to 32,000 in just two years.
In addition to proposing a financial incentive, the Mayor´s Office teamed with Ting to initiate the creation of the city's first low-interest renewable energy loan program for solar customers. The city-backed, below-market-rate loans would be paid back to the city in the form of a monthly tax assessment added to the property owner's annual property tax bill. The program will be created via a voter-approved ballot measure to repurpose $50 million in general obligation bonds originally designed for the "Seismic Safety Loan Program" to a solar and other renewable energy loan program.
The Solar Task Force, co-chaired by Ting and David Hochschild, a San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioner, is a coalition representing labor, environmental, the solar industry, and business organizations as well as local and state government. The Solar Task Force was convened in February of 2007 to find innovative solutions to achieving the City and County's 10,000 solar rooftops goal, which was announced in 2000.
"The solar incentive and loan programs will not only make San Francisco the solar capitol of the U.S., they will create hundreds of new green collar jobs for the local economy," said Hochschild.
The financial incentive program would be administered through SFPUC using revenue from the sale of Hetch Hetchy power in the SFPUC´s public utility enterprise. It is a multi-year source of non-General Fund revenue which has traditionally been used to advance alternative energy generation, as well as energy efficiency and conservation. The ordinance as drafted will make $2-5 million available for solar incentives each year for 10 years, beginning in FY 2008-09.