A wide-ranging coalition of Los Angeles-area stakeholders – including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the American Lung Association in California and the Sierra Club – has called on city leaders to back CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) LA, a solar energy program proposed for the region by the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC).
The proposal would allow businesses and residents to install solar arrays and sell the power generated back to the local utility through a feed-in tariff (FIT), creating the largest program of its kind in the U.S. According to supporters, the plan would create $500 million in local investment and create 900 high-paying jobs each year for the next five years, all with a minimal impact on ratepayers.
The coalition's March 1 letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, members of the City Council and leaders from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) requests that the program be funded in the LADWP's upcoming integrated resource plan.
The LABC-led CLEAN LA coalition is calling on the city to back a five-year, 150 MW FIT that would start in July, and take advantage of up to $300 million in federal tax credits to businesses and homeowners to cover the costs of installing solar panels.
Villaraigosa first called for a solar FIT program in 2009 and has renewed his commitment on multiple occasions, the coalition notes. The City Council is now reviewing the CLEAN LA solar proposal and is working toward enactment in partnership with the LADWP.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Business Council
