Solar energy

The city's Climate Action Plan includes several items related to solar, calling for the maximization of the use of renewable energy through developing a comprehensive renewable energy financing and informational program (Objective BE-5). A process indicator for this objective is the percentage of buildings that have installed PV or solar hot water heaters (15% by 2015 and 20% by 2020; p. IV-5). Objective BE-6 relates to Community Energy Management and working with the county to convert street lights to LED-solar systems. The city has a buildings and energy strategy because they feel it has high potential to support solar energy systems and that installing PV panels and solar hot water heating systems has the potential to further reduce GHG emissions (p. III-2). They anticipate that the installation of solar energy systems will reduce 920MT CO2e which is 10% of the city's total anticipated GHG reductions and about 23% of the reductions within the strategy (p. III-6). Then plan depicts the city's current energy portfolio, which includes 14% renewables including solar (p. III-7). The plan discusses the city's solar energy potential, calling it the most promising option for future renewable energy generation in the city (p. III-9). Objective BE-4 is to consider requiring energy performance in new construction, like passive solar design (p. III-15). The plan discusses SB 107, which requires investor-owned utilities to provide at least 20% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2010 and also discusses how to finance solar (pp. IV-14 - IV-19). More than 80% of respondents offered support for installing PV panels on municipal buildings/properties so long as they are cost-effective. Approx 36% of survey respondents expressed interest in PV panels or solar hot water heaters for homes and commercial buildings (p. V-5). Public outreach materials listed solar hot water heaters as a GHG reduction best practice (Appendix B).