L.A. WANTS SUN

A new Los Angeles solar energy initiative may be a case of ambitious over-reaching for the solar industry but it also indicates how strongly Californians favor New Energy.

L. A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed Solar LA – The Los Angeles Solar Energy Plan, an ambitious initiative that would add 1280 megawatts of solar energy-generated electricity to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) generating capacity.

It is the biggest solar energy undertaking of any U.S. city. And it includes a groundbreaking feed-in tariff for solar, one of the few in the entire country.

Solar industry insiders say it is a too-ambitious plan, over-reaching solar energy’s capacity.

Not coincidentally, a part of the Mayor's plan will be included on the March 2009 ballot when Villaraigosa runs for re-election.

Why does this indicate how strongly Californians favor New Energy?

Because the Mayor is tying his re-election campaign and greater politcal ambitions to it.

The initiative is widely seen as Villaraigosa’s demonstration of “green cred” in anticipation of a 2010 run for the Governorship against state Attorney General Jerry Brown, a green-blooded 1970s old-school environmentalist.

Does that mean the solar initiative is just political hot air? No. It’s a smart political move and the Mayor knows it.

Villaraigosa: "L.A. has everything it takes to make this [solar plan] work…We have the sun in abundancy. We have the space. We have the largest municipal utility in the country."

The next step in Mayor V’s plan is a 90-day go-round with the numbers guys at LADWP. One local pol thinks the plan will have a hard time passing muster.

Jack Humphreville, a neighborhood council member: "There is one huge assumption here -- that they'll get these huge tax credits, volume discounts and economies of scale…I have serious questions about whether that is pie-in-the-sky or not."

Humphreville's doubts have credence not because solar energy can't do what the Mayor wants it to do but because it may not be able to do it according to the Mayor's (political) schedule.

One controversial point sure to be part of the 2009 political fight is the higher power price the city’s ratepayers will likely pay for the plan. The Mayor acknowledged that will likely happen by 2011.

City Council President Eric Garcetti defended the initiative on the utility bill point, noting that global climate change measures will surely make other sources of power more costly as well.

Garcetti: "Coal is not going to be the same price that it is today…"

Footnote: The ballot measure portion of Mayor V’s initiative is controversial in a completely non-New Energy way. Business leaders say the measure, which authorizes 400 megawatts of rooftop solar for LA, was written by and for DWP employee unions and locks out solar system installers.

Final Word: Solar energy’s future is big and bright, especially in California. There is nothing wrong with setting ambitious goals for any New Energy – unless it is likely New Energy will fall short of achieving them.

During New Energy’s recent phenomenal rise, Old Energy has attempted to defend its recalcitrance to welcome the inevitable future by claiming New Energy can’t be relied on. If there is a need to fuel that fire, political ambition is not it.

Mayor Villaraigosa needs to remember the lesson learned from the recent defeat of Propositions 7 and 10: New Energy initiatives will fail if they aren't strongly supported by the New Energy community.

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Villaraigosa unveils solar plan for Los Angeles; The mayor's proposal aims to have solar power meet one-tenth of L.A.'s energy needs by 2020. But skeptics wonder if the plan will be cost-efficient and friendly to private enterprise.
David Zahniser and Phil Willon, November 25, 2008 (LA Times)

WHO
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) (H. David Nahai, Chief Executive/General Manager); Jack Humphreville, neighborhood council member

WHAT
Mayor Villaraigosa announced Solar LA – The Los Angeles Solar Energy Plan, a new initiative to for LADWP to develop 1280 megawatts of solar energy capacity, about 10% of LA power, in the next 12 years.

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WHEN
- Voters will decide on a part of the Mayor's solar plan in the March 3, 2009, election in which Villaraigosa is running for his 2nd (and final) 4-year term.
- The ballot measure calls for LA DWP to install and own 400 megawatts of rooftop solar by 2014.
- The whole initiative would see LADWP owning 1280 megawatts of solar capacity by 2020.
- The solar initiative is the latest in a series of New Energy initiatives from Villaraigosa in recent weeks.
- Villaraigosa is rumored to be planning a run for the California Governorship (which incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger is term-limited out of) in 2010.

WHERE
The Villaraigosa plan aims to make L.A. a solar-energy industry hub.

WHY
- The initiative would cumulatively add 1,280 megawatts of solar generated power via a combination of private and public installations as well as rooftop solar systems.
- The initiative will help move LADWP away from fossil fuels (natural gas and coal) in anticipation of achieving California requirements and meeting federal climate cahnge laws.
- Villaraigosa has also called for using redevelopment funds to lure New Energy companies to LA and investing city pension money in New Energy and Energy Efficiency companies.
- 500 megawatts of the initiative will come from private-sector solar power plants in the Mojave Desert.
- 380 megawatts will come through smaller programs, one for low-income residents to install home solar panel systems and another for LA DWP customers to invest in city-owned solar power plants.

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QUOTES
Rhonda Mills, Southern California director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies: "Nobody's contemplated that many megawatts for one city…"