Gov. Schwarzenegger Highlights Nation’s Largest Rooftop Solar Installation Project as Key to Achieving California’s Renewable Energy Goals

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined Southern California Edison officials today on the rooftop of ProLogis in Fontana to announce the nation's largest rooftop solar installation project ever proposed by a utility company. It will place 250 megawatts of advanced photovoltaic generating technology on 65 million square feet of unused commercial buildings' rooftops in Southern California-that's enough clean power to serve 162,000 average Southern California homes.

"These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California's long-term energy and climate change goals," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "I urge others to follow in their footsteps. If commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge wave of renewable energy growth."

This groundbreaking solar installation project, subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission, will help California in meeting its goal to achieve 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. It will also help the state meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets under AB 32. This is electricity that produces no greenhouse gases, burns no fossil fuels and requires no new transmission lines.

These goals are the same as the Governor's Million Solar Roofs Plan, signed into law in 2006, which will provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gases by three million tons, equivalent to taking one million cars off the road. The $2.9 billion incentive plan for homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems will lead to one million solar roofs in California by the year 2018.

While the Governor's Million Solar Roofs Plan is encouraging renewable energy production on residential and small commercial buildings, many utility companies are taking on large scale renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar farms. The solar installation project announced today fills the gap between these small and large scale projects by finding an innovative way to generate more renewable energy on large commercial buildings in local communities.

The advanced photovoltaic generating technology being installed by Southern California Edison and ProLogis underscores the numerous energy efficient products and services being produced and used by California companies. According to Next10's "California Green Innovation Index" California patents account for 44 percent of all U.S. patents in solar and 37 percent in all U.S. patents in wind technologies.

In addition to California's policies aimed at spurring renewable energy growth, the state has also launched the most aggressive energy efficiency program in the world. Over a three-year period, this program will eliminate the need to build three power plants, cutting energy costs for homes and businesses by $5 billion.

Governor Schwarzenegger has led California in establishing laws and policies aimed at helping California achieve energy independence and fight global warming, including:

Last October, the Governor signed AB 1470 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007, which provides incentives to attain the goal of installing 200,000 solar water heating systems in the state by 2017.
In February 2007, the Governor announced that the University of California Berkeley received a $500 million grant from BP to establish the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI). University of California Berkeley is a partner with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on this groundbreaking project. EBI is the first public-private research lab dedicated to renewable fuels and clean energy.
In January 2007, the Governor announced the world's first Low Carbon Fuel Standard for transportation fuels that requires fuel providers to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in California. This first-of-its kind standard firmly establishes sustainable demand for lower-carbon fuels without favoring one fuel over another. To start, the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.

In September 2006, the Governor signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California's landmark bill that established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gases. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger has also called for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.