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WELCOME TO THE ESSAY ARCHIVES!
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"Here Comes the Sun . . .Part II" While this certainly hasn't been the warmest summer Southern California has ever had, the sun still has been shining - perhaps with warmer temperatures yet to come. This year the July and August essays present a two-part look at solar energy - from solar basics to examples of how it currently is being used in some of the areas covered on the site. The July essay, now located in the ESSAY ARCHIVES, explained solar power basics. This month's essay will continue with a brief look at the California Solar Initiative and incentives for the use of solar power in the state, and it will include a few examples of how solar power is being used in some of the cities covered on the site. Over the years, many of the site's articles have been "interactive" in the sense that the reader can go back and forth between the essay text and various information-related links embedded with it. Due to the technical nature of some of the solar technology information, this essay will be even more so, allowing the reader to explore a particular subject in much greater depth or not at all. By clicking a link the reader can view additional information from one or a variety of sources, then return to the essay. (The links are included for information purposes only. No guarantees are made as to the accuracy of the materials presented on the sites, although every effort has been made to search out reliable and respected sources of information.) Footnotes, a list of links and a bibliography also will be included at the end of the text for anyone wishing to learn more about the subject. The materials presented here are only a small fraction of what is available on solar energy and solar technology. A link to a glossary of solar-related terminology from the U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is provided here as a reference for use as needed. Click here to reach the glossary.
Solar-powered bobbleheads for sale at the Nisei Week Festival in Little Tokyo. Their heads never stopped moving! * * * The promise of solar power as a virtually inexhaustible source of clean renewable energy has been on the horizon for decades. Technical constraints, industry limitations and costs, however, have all been factors limiting its growth in the past. Today, solar energy still accounts for less than one percent of the total U.S. energy supply. (n1) In terms of the solar industry, the U.S. has lost the lead in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing that it held in the 1980s (n2) and the 1990s. (n3) Globally, U.S. manufacturers account for seven percent of global supply and 8 percent of global demand. This is as compared to Europe with 31 percent of global supply and 78 percent of demand (41 percent from Spain, 32 percent from Germany and five percent from the rest of Europe), and 40 percent of supply and eight percent of demand from the rest of the world including China and Taiwan. (n4) Still, there are some bright points for the solar industry in the U.S. The price of PV modules (which make up about half of the cost of an installed PV system) have fallen about 40 percent since mid-2008, and the average installed cost of a PV system has fallen about 10 percent in the same period. (n5) Restrictions on certain aspects of federal tax incentives for installed solar systems have been lifted, and states such as California have made substantial investments in building both demand for solar power and a market base for the industry. How measures which have been put in place will play out over the next decade or so remains to be seen. This second part of the "Here Comes the Sun . . ." essay series will begin with a look at the "unprecedented $3.3 billion ratepayer-funded [California] effort . . . and the country's largest solar program," (n6), the California Solar Initiative. THE CALIFORNIA SOLAR INITIATIVE (n7)
The CSI Program . . . grew out of Governor Schwarznegger's vision for a "Million Solar Roofs" in the State of California. (Note: The Million Solar Roofs goal was not adopted by the Legislature in its authorization of the State's solar programs as an explicit target for the number of projects. Instead, the Legislature adopted a 3,000 MW capacity goal. However, if the entire capacity goal were installed - hypothetically - in only small residential systems averaging 3kW in size, it would cover approximately one million roofs. In practice, the CPUC expects approximately one-third of the capacity installed through the CSI program to be in the residential sector and two-thirds in the non-residential sector. Since non-residential systems are fewer in number, but larger in terms of per-project capacity, the number of systems installed will not reach one million at the time when the CSI program capacity targets are achieved. (n9)) The CSI Program was authorized by the CPUC in a series of regulatory decisions throughout 2006. In addition the Legislature expressly authorized the CPUC to create the CSI program in 2006 in Senate Bill (SB) 1 (Murray, 2006). The CSI program focuses exclusively on onsite, grid-connected solar that is used by electric customers seeking to offset some portion of their own load by installing solar PV or other solar electric generating systems. The CSI Program does not
fund large, free-standing solar power plants designed to serve the electric grid or help utilities meet Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) obligations. (RPS is a mandate for an electric utility to purchase or generate a minimum amount of renewable electricity. (n10). For more information, go to
www.energy.ca.gov/portfolio.)
CSI Program Components The CSI program has a budget of $2.167 billion over 10 years, from 2007 - 2016. The goals of the CSI program are to install 1,940 MW of distributed solar energy systems in the large IOU service territories and to transform the market for
solar energy systems so that it is price competitive and self-sustaining. (One mechanism through which this will be accomplished is a series of steps, or "trigger points" in the California rebate program. Those who purchase solar systems earlier will receive larger rebates, and rebates will drop through the end of the program in 2016 each time a certain level
of level of installed megawatt capacity is reached. To see the trigger points and current rebate levels, go to www.csi-trigger.com.) The CSI Program has five components, each with its own Program Administrator and budgets overseen by the CPUC: CSI General Market Solar Program: The program is administered through three Program Administrators - PG&E (www.pge.com/solar), SCE (www.sce.com/CSI),
and the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) in SDG&E territory (www.energycenter.org). The goal is 1,750 MW with a ten-year budget of $1.9 billion. CSI Single-Family Affordable Solar Home (SASH) Program: The program provides solar incentives to qualifying single-family, low income housing owners. The SASH program is administered through a statewide Program Manager, GRID Alternatives, with a budget of
$108 million through 2015. CSI Multi-Family Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) Program: The program provides solar incentives to multifamily low income housing facilities, . . . has a budger of $108 million through 2015 and is administered through the same Program Administrators as the general market
solar program. CSI Solar Water Heating Pilot Program (SWHPP): The program provides solar hot water incentives through a pilot program for residences and businesses in the San Diego area only; the SWHPP is administered through CCSE with a budget of $2.6 million. CSI Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment (RD&D): The program provides grants to develop and deploy solar technologies that can advance the overall goals of the CSI program, . . . is administered through the RD&D Program Manager, Itron, Inc., and has a budget
of $50 million. Other Solar Programs When it launched in January 2007, the CSI Program built upon nearly 10 years of state support for solar, including other incentive programs . . . The CSI Program is one part of the broader solar effort in California, branded collectively as the Go Solar, California! campaign. In authorizing a total expenditure of $3.3 billion, the Legislature indentified two additional programs to support the goal of installing 3,000 MW of solar capacity statewide . . . One [program] is the California Energy Commission's New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) that offers solar incentives to new homes in large IOU territories and leverages the Energy Commission's oversight of building codes and standards. The other is a set of solar programs offered through publicly-owned utilities (POUs) that are not regulated by the CPUC. The statewide solar effort is promoted collectively on the Go Solar, California website, www.GoSolarCalifornia.ca.gov, a one-stop web portal.
Solar-powered stages were in use in Long Beach in this year's Summer and Music (SAM) series, such as this one at Funk Fest. The series, continuing through the end of August, was advertised as "Music for the People. Powered by the Sun." FEDERAL SOLAR/RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES The current level of the federal investment tax credit (ITC) available for residential purchases of renewable energy systems (including solar) is 30%. This credit is applicable toward the total cost of a system such as a PV system (including installation), and it is applied after other rebate/incentives have been taken. The ITC was capped at a maximum of $2000 for solar electric systems "placed in service on or before December 31, 2008; as of 2009 there has been no maximum limit. (n11) Also, one important change in the personal ITC took effect with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5, February 17, 2009, 123 Stat. 115). "To help eliminate the challenges associated with tax credit financing, [the Act] offers ITC-eligible project developers the option of receiving a cash grant instead of the credit. The cash grant offers immediate funding for renewable energy projects placed in service before 2011 (i.e. before the end of this year) and is intended to address the lack of readily available project financing during the recession." (n12) NET ENERGY METERING A recent series of radio ads has a couple talking about their excitement as they stood and watched their electric meter run backward after installing their rooftop PV system. The commercials refer to the bi-directional electric meters which can be installed along with a PV system. The meters measure electricity flowing both into the home (from the grid) and out of the home (as surplus electricity generated from the solar system in excess of what is being used in the home or business). "When a solar generating system produces more electricity than [what is used] . . . the 'excess' electricity automatically passes through the meter and onto the utility grid. When this occurs, the meter runs backward and Net Energy Metering (NEM) generates a bill credit for the full retail value of the electricity [the] system is producing at the time . . . Over a 12-month period customers on Net Energy Metering will pay for the net amount of electricity used from their utility over and above the amount of electricity their solar system generates." (n13) NEM is available to all solar customers, and most customers participate. (n14) (Restrictions are in effect as to the size of systems allowed to be installed so that PV system users can not install large solar electric generating systems simply for the purpose of generating electricity to be sent back to the grid.) DOES INVESTING IN A SOLAR PV SYSTEM MAKE SENSE FOR YOU? The answer to that question can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. The costs of a PV system depend on a number of tangible variables including the size of a system (generally 3 - 5 kilowatts for a residential system), the type of equipment selected, current local, state and federal incentives for the area in which a residence or business is located, the local cost of electricity and financing methods used. Most estimates for up-front costs of a 3 - 5 kilowatt residential PV system seen in the course of reviewing materials for the essays were in the $18,000 - $25,000 range after all incentives/rebates had been applied (with one exception, to be discussed below). Other more intangible factors influencing the choice of installing a PV system may include a person's philosophies and beliefs related to the environment. Those wishing to obtain a personalized rough estimate of what a PV system might cost can visit a site called the Clean Power Estimator. The Clean Power Estimator is an online software program that provides California residents and commercial electric customers with a personalized estimate of costs and benefits of investing in PV solar electric generating systems. The Estimator can be found at www.cec.cleanpowerestimator.com/cec.htm. A more exact estimate can be obtained by contacting a solar installer. Listings of local solar installation companies/contractors and additional solar tools/calculators can be found at www.findsolar.com. The one exception found in reviewing estimates for system costs came from community solar purchasing collectives organized by a San Francisco-based company called One Block Off the Grid, or 1Bog. The company, "established in 2008, has taken the group purchasing concept to the next level by organizing collective buying campaigns in numerous cities across the country . . . When there is a critical mass of interest [in a community] - usually about 100 people - 1Bog issues a request for proposal to local PV system installers and formally launches a campaign." (n15) The company "makes its money by charging the winning bidder [for the collective installations] a fee." (n16) The benefits of the 1Bog campaigns are significant reductions in the cost of PV system purchases and installation for campaign participants. Drawbacks are no choice in the installer of type of system installed. However, all details of the campaings and selected PV systems are clearly posted on the 1Bog website, www.1bog.org. 1Bog campaigns and home evaluations are currently open in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and the Inland Empire. Sign-ups for Orange County and the Inland Empire close on September 14 and sign-ups for Los Angeles close on September 30. Moving on from purchasing decisions to implementation, this second part of the two-part "Here Comes the Sun" series will conclude with a few examples of PV-based products and services, CSI program implementation measures and solar electric power generation in the Orange County, Los Angeles County and Inland Empire areas covered on the site. LOCAL EXAMPLES OF USES OF SOLAR POWER, BIG AND SMALL
Above left: Fountains in front of Brotman Hall at California State University Long Beach. Above right: Solar array on top of Brotman Hall (fountains can be see near the top of the picture). Photograph on right courtesy of Go Solar California Photo Gallery, www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov. Consider the photographs above. Hundreds, if not thousands, of students and others pass by the fountains at Brotman Hall on the California State University Long Beach campus each day. Few, however, may realize their proximity to electricity generated from solar power, because the building's rooftop solar panels are not visible (for the most part) from the ground. Likewise, a person sitting in the evening at any one of a number of covered bus shelters in the city of El Monte may not realize that the light in the shelter is shining thanks to power generated from the solar panel sitting atop the structure. Unlike oil wells, gasoline pumps or wind turbines, photovoltaic (PV) systems are sometimes installed in places (such as rooftops) where they are not easily seen. While it has become commonplace to find solar cells generating power for everything from calculators to roadside traffic signs and emergency call boxes, other newer uses of solar power may be less obvious. A few examples of local uses of solar power - both small-scale and large-scale - are included below. The list is not intended to be a comprehensive one for Orange and Los Angeles Counties and the Inland Empire but rather an illustrative one; cities or organizations using solar power are invited to send information on their uses of the technology to solar@dorothyswebsite.org. An addendum to Part II of the essay will be included next month if any additional information is received. (Examples listed here do not constitute an endorsement of any product or service and are included for information purposes only.) Solar-Powered Trash Cans and Parking Pay Stations. Both the cities of Riverside and Long Beach have installed solar-powered trash cans/trash compactor units this year. Units in Riverside "squeeze the trash inside the bin which saves space and reduces trash collection trips to just once a week. This saves the city an average of 1,665 gallons of fuel each year and about 575 labor hours . . . The containers compact up to 200 gallons of trash into just 40 - 60 pounds. And, when there is no sun, the units have a battery reserve designed to last two to three weeks without charging." (n17) The city installed the first containers in the Riverwalk area in May, with about 25 units to be installed city-wide. Similar units were put in place in three locations in Long Beach in July. The locations include "the 200 block of Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach, Second Street/Argonne Avenue in Belmont Shore, and Atlantic Avenue/Carson Street in Bixby Knolls." In these units, "when the container is full . . . the green light on the compactor turns from green to yellow and a signal is then transmitted wirelessly, letting the collectors know the unit is full and ready to be picked up." (n18)
Left, solar-powered parking pay station in downtown Riverside near the Riverside Art Museum, and right, solar-powered parking pay station at Pier Plaza in Huntington Beach. Solar Power in Municipal Buildings. The city of Brea is soon to become "the largest municipal producer of solar power in Orange County, . . . [with] up to 1.8 megawatts of . . . solar power to be produced from panels installed at the Civic and Cultural Center, the Brea Community Center and at the maintenance yard." (n19) Work is scheduled to begin this month on the installation of solar arrays "over the atrium plaza area at the Brea Civic and Cultural Center, as well as over the parking stalls at the Brea Community Center, . . . [both] providing daytime shade for more comfort and better overnight lighting for more safety." (n20) Over the first five full years of implentation of the project (which also includes other equipment and facility upgrades) savings of $1.4 million are projected. (n21) The city of Costa Mesa also has started using solar power in some of its municipal buildings. This year "over 1,500 solar modules [were installed] on roofs in the Downtown Recreation Center (DRC) and the Neighborhood Community Center (NCC) . . . The 106 kilowatt system is expected to produce 65 percent of the NCC's electrical use." In addition, the installation provided hands-on training for 20 students enrolled in Orange Coast College's photovoltaics course. (n22) Comprehensive Municipal Solar Service. The city of Santa Monica has a municipal goal of becoming energy independent by the year 2020. "Solar Santa Monica" is part of this community-wide effort. Solar Santa Monica is a comprehensive hands-on service offered by the city to its residents and businesses to help them "save energy by making homes and businesses more efficient and produce energy by installing solar panels on individual buildings and community sites throughout the city." (n23) From energy assessments to discounts from preferred providers of solar electric and solar thermal systems, the office's full-time team of energy professionals can assist in all aspects of energy decision-making. Find out more about Solar Santa Monica by calling (310) 458-4992 or visiting www.solarsantamonica.com. Solar Power in New Residential Construction. Not all homes in all areas are suited for generating electricity from solar panels, and not all roofs are suitable for supporting a solar array. The Go Solar California consumer guide even suggests that it is better to wait to install a new roof before placing panels on a roof more than seven years old. (n24) As outlined in the CSI section above, incentives now exist for incorporating solar energy in the design of new homes and/or residential developments. An example of one new residential development in which solar panels have been included on all the homes is Comstock Homes' Villages at Heritage Springs in Santa Fe Springs. The master-planned community includes houses and townhomes ranging from 1,390 to 2,166 square feet which are equipped with energy-saving features and state-of-the-art Sun Power Solar electric systems. According to company materials, the rooftop Sun Tiles (which are almost indistinguishable from regular roof tiles except for variation in color, see picture below) are the highest efficiency solar cells on the market. (n25) You can read more about the homes at www.villagesatsantafesprings.com, and you can learn more about the solar systems by visiting the site www.sunpowersolarhome.com.
Solar PV "tiles" on the "Villages" homes are nearly indistiguishable from the regular rooftop tiles except for the color variation. SASH AND Grid Alternatives. As mentioned earlier, one component of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) is the Single Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) program. The SASH program is managed by GRID Alternatives. GRID Alternatives is "a non-profit organization founded in 2001 that provides solar services and training in low-income communities. (n26) Under the SASH guidelines, eligible households receive a one-time payment . . . to help reduce the cost of installation. The SASH program offers fully-subsidized (free) systems to single family households classified as "extremely low income," and partially subsidized systems to households that are classified as "low income." One local city which has partnered with GRID Alternatives is Hawaiian Gardens. (n27) The city hopes to provide qualifying applicants with grants for low-income homeowners. To learn more about GRID Alternatives, visit www.gridalternatives.org. Utility-Scale Solar Thermal Power Plants. Southern California's largest solar power generating facilities are all located in the Mojave Desert area of San Bernardino County in Daggett, Kramer Junction and Harper Dry Lake. The nine solar electric generating stations, known as SEGS I - IX, are all parabolic trough-type facilities (see the July 2010 essay for an explanation of the technology) with a combined electric generating capacity of more than 350 megawatts. They became operational in the years between 1985 - 1990. Information on each of the SEGS units is available at www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces. According to information from the California Energy Commission available at www.energy.ca.gov/siting/solar, there are currently seven utility-scale projects under review in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, with one additional project already approved for Victorville. If the other seven are approved, they will have a combined generating capacity of close to 3400 MW. The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also has received right-of-way requests for more than 25 other solar thermal plants to be developed on federal BLM land. (n28) You can find a pdf map file of proposed large solar facilities on BLM land by clicking the link on the solar siting page listed above. SUN SPOTS?
* * * Thank you for taking the time to visit the Essays page this month. The bibliography for the August 2010 essay will be available shortly. Please check back again a little later. Check back in September, too, for the final essay in the 2010 summer series. * * NEW SEPTEMBER 2010 ADDITION TO THE AUGUST 2010 ESSAY * * - This special update to the essay is included with a photo of the work in progress in Brea and additional information on solar projects either completed or under way in a couple of other cities.
CERRITOS: The City of Cerritos is installing close to 800 Unisolar thin film photovoltaic solar modules on the roof of one of the two six million gallon reservoirs at the Cerritos Corporate Yard. The solar panels are expected to generate about half of the electricity used by the Yard's main building. Read more in the News/Press Releases section at www.cerritos.us/news_info.php. HUNTINGTON BEACH: Huntington Beach was named as one of the NRDC's 2010 Smarter Cities. In addition to implementing an energy management program to track municipal energy use, the city is installing 12.5 acres of solar panels which are slated to begin generating power in the summer of 2012. Read more about it and other U.S. "Smarter Cities" at www.smartercities.nrdc.org/topic/energy. POMONA: More than 4,500 solar panels were installed on the Cal Poly Pomona campus this summer on canopies covering one of the campus parking lots as well as on top of the Kellogg Gym. The panels are expected to go into operation around October. SunEdison was selected to finance, build and operate the system in Pomona as well as on California State University campuses in Bakersfield, Monterey Bay and San Bernardino. You can read more about the projects at http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/news_stories and http://ex-centric.csupomona.edu/news.asp?id=2192?&display=archive. FOOTNOTES - The following are the footnotes indicated in the text in parentheses with the letter "n" and a number. If you click the asterisk at the end of the footnote, it will take you back to the paragraph where you left off. n1 - Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), U.S. Solar Industry: Year in Review 2009. Washington, D.C.: SEIA, April 15, 2010, p. 11. (*) n3 - Mints, Paula, "The Emerging U.S. Solar Market," Renewable Energy Focus: U.S. Solar Supplement, October 2009, p. 17. (*) n5 - Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), U.S. Solar Industry: Year in Review 2009, p. 6. (*) n6 - California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)/Charles, Melicia, Constantine, Sachu, and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Annual Program Assessment 2009, San Francisco: CPUC, June 30, 2009, p. 1. (*)
A sign at the Santa Monica Photovoltaic Solarport next to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium explains the technology and the benefits of the use of solar energy. n8 - Dickerson, Marla, "You Can Go Solar - Without Going Broke," Los Angeles Times, Business Section, August 2, 2009, p. B4. (*) n9 - Charles, Melicia, Amy Reardon and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Quarterly Staff Progress Report October 2009, San Francisco: CPUC, October 2009, Footnote 2, p. 34. (*) n10 - Mints, Paula, "The Emerging U.S. Solar Market," p. 14 (*) n11 - Eckhart, Michael and Jacoby, Samantha, "Where are the Dollars Coming From?" Renewable Energy Focus: U.S. Solar Supplement, October 2009, p. 10. (*) n13 - Go Solar California: A Consumer's Guide to the California Solar Initiative Statewide Incentives for Solar Energy Systems, California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California Center for Sustainable Energy and Southern California Edison, 2008, p. 5. (*) n14 - Charles, Melicia, Amy Reardon and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Quarterly Staff Progress Report October 2009, p. 15. (*) n15 - Matz, Michael D., "Solar Block Party," Photon, November 2009, p. 55. (*) n16 - Dickerson, Marla, "You Can Go Solar - Without Going Broke," p. B4. (*) n17 - "Solar Power Plays a Role in Reducing Waste," Riverside Outlook, Riverside, CA: City of Riverside, May 2010, p. 2 (*) n18 - City of Long Beach news release viewed online August 2010 at http://www.longbeach.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=4705&TargetID=100. (*) n19 - "Sustainability and Solar Power Debut at Brea Civic Center," Brea Line, Brea, CA: City of Brea, July/August 2010, p. 1 (*) n20 - "Brea Steps Forward with Energy Savings Strategy," Brea Line, Brea, CA: City of Brea, May/June 2010, p. 2 (*) n22 - "Solar Modules Installed at Two City Facilities," Costa Mesa Community News, Costa Mesa, CA: City of Costa Mesa, June - September 2010, p. 4 (*) n23 - Solar Santa Monica program brochure, Santa Monica, CA: City of Santa Monica (*) n24 - Go Solar California: A Consumer's Guide to the California Solar Initiative Statewide Incentives for Solar Energy Systems, p. 12 (*) n25 - "Villages at Heritage Springs: A Green Community/Pines at the Villages," prospectus, Comstock Homes, and "The Solar Powered Home," SunPower product brochure, from Villages sales office, August 2010. (*) n26 - Charles, Melicia, Amy Reardon and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Quarterly Staff Progress Report October 2009, p. 17. (*) n27 - "GRID Solar," The Sunrise Monthly Newsletter, Hawaiian Gardens, CA: City of Hawaiian Gardens, June 2010, p. 5. (*) n28 - Viewed online August 2010 at www.energy.ca.gov/siting/solar. (*) n29 - Schaefer, John, Solar Living Sourcebook, 12th Edition, Hopland, CA: Gaiam Real Goods, 2005, p. 4 (*) n30 - Welter, Phillipe, "Editorial: Gainsville is the Start," Photon, November 2009, p. 3 (*)
LINKS INCLUDED IN ESSAY - The following are links included in the essay.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - The following is the Bibliography for the August 2010 essay. California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), CPUC California Solar Initiative site at www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/solar, viewed August 2010. California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), CPUC California Solar Initiative Program Handbook June 2010, San Francisco: CPUC/Center for Sustainable Energy, San Diego Gas and Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Southern California Edison, June 2010. California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)/Charles, Melicia, Constantine, Sachu, and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Annual Program Assessment 2009, San Francisco: CPUC, June 30, 2009. Charles, Melicia, Amy Reardon and contributing authors, California Solar Initiative: Quarterly Staff Progress Report October 2009, San Francisco: CPUC, October 2009. City of Brea, "Brea Steps Forward with Energy Savings Strategy," Brea Line, Brea, CA: City of Brea, May/June 2010, pp. 1 - 2. City of Brea, "Sustainability and Solar Power Debut at Brea Civic Center," Brea Line, Brea, CA: City of Brea, July/August 2010, p. 1. City of Costa Mesa,"Solar Modules Installed at Two City Facilities," Costa Mesa Community News, Costa Mesa, CA: City of Costa Mesa, June - September 2010, p. 4. City of Hawaiian Gardens,"GRID Solar," The Sunrise Monthly Newsletter, Hawaiian Gardens, CA: City of Hawaiian Gardens, June 2010, p. 5. City of Long Beach, news release viewed online August 2010 at www.longbeach.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=4705&TargetID=100. City of Santa Monica,Solar Santa Monica program brochure, Santa Monica, CA: City of Santa Monica, no date listed. Comstock Homes, "Villages at Heritage Springs: A Green Community/Pines at the Villages," prospectus, Comstock Homes, and "The Solar Powered Home," SunPower product brochure, from Villages sales office, Santa Fe Springs, CA, August 2010. DeGunther, Rik, Solar Power Your Home for Dummies, Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008. Dickerson, Marla, "You Can Go Solar - Without Going Broke," Los Angeles Times, Business Section, August 2, 2009, pp. B1 and B4. Eckhart, Michael and Jacoby, Samantha, "Where are the Dollars Coming From?" Renewable Energy Focus: U.S. Solar Supplement, October 2009, pp. 8 - 13. Go Solar California: A Consumer's Guide to the California Solar Initiative Statewide Incentives for Solar Energy Systems, California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, California Center for Sustainable Energy and Southern California Edison, 2008. Hossain, Yasmeen, Taylor, Mike and Shao, Ming-Jay, Photovoltaic Incentive Programs Survey: Residential Participant Demographics, Motivations and Experiences, Washington, D.C.: Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), SEPA Report #06-09, November 2009. Itron, Inc. and KEMA, Inc., CPUC California Solar Initiative 2009 Impact Report, Final Evaluation, Davis/Oakland, CA: Itron, Inc. and KEMA, Inc., June 2010. Kho, Jennifer, "Lighting the Way," PV Magazine, July 2009, pp. 34 - 38. Matz, Michael D., "Solar Block Party," Photon, November 2009, pp. 54 - 58. Mints, Paula, "The Emerging U.S. Solar Market," Renewable Energy Focus: U.S. Solar Supplement, October 2009, pp. 14 - 17. Riverside County Economic Development Agency, Riverside County Renewable Energy, Riverside: Riverside County Economic Development Agency, 2009. Schaefer, John, Solar Living Sourcebook, 12th Edition, Hopland, CA: Gaiam Real Goods, 2005. Smith, Reid and Cohn, Lisa, "The U.S. is Poised for Major Solar Growth," Sun and Wind Energy, October 2009, pp. 34 - 35. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), U.S. Solar Industry: Year in Review 2009. Washington, D.C.: SEIA, April 15, 2010. "Solar Power Plays a Role in Reducing Waste," Riverside Outlook, Riverside, CA: City of Riverside, May 2010, p. 2. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), California Desert Conservation Area BLM Solar Energy Project Applications, viewed online at www.energy.ca.gov/siting/solar, July 2010. U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 123 Stat. 115, Public Law 111-5, February 17, 2009. Welter, Phillipe, "Editorial: Gainsville is the Start," Photon, November 2009, p. 3.
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Both cities, as well as cities like Huntington Beach, have also begun to deploy solar-powered parking pay stations on city streets and in city-owned parking lots. Units in Huntington Beach and Riverside
are pictured here.
