Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the month of October “Solar Energy Month,” and Southern California Edison (SCE), a supplier of renewable energy and solar power, reminds everyone that there is much to celebrate.
According to a release, the following is a roundup of noteworthy solar news, events and facts:
Throughout October / Free Solar Classes for Homeowners
SCE helps its residential customers “follow the sun” with free classes on the California Solar Initiative program. Customers can learn about solar energy basics, the benefits of installing a solar energy system, tax credits and other financial models that can provide financial incentives and help reduce initial costs.
-Monday, Oct. 18 – Rancho Cucamonga, The Frontier Project
-Tuesday, Oct. 19 – Valencia, SCE’s Valencia Service Center
-Tuesday, Oct. 26 – Tulare, SCE’s Agricultural Technology Application Center
Oct. 12-14 / Solar Power International 2010 conference / Los Angeles Convention Center
Solar experts, including Mike Marelli, director of contracts for SCE’s Renewable and Alternative Power division, will participate in the “Can Solar Bank on Renewable Energy Credits?” session. SCE’s Russell Neal, a strategic planning manager, will speak on the “Solar Grid Integration” panel. Gary Barsley, manager of the California Solar Initiative program, and Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power, also will participate.
Oct. 13 / Free Community Forum 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. / Los Angeles Convention Center
SCE will host a free forum during “public night” of the Solar Power International 2010 conference. Representatives from the California Solar Initiative program and California Public Utilities Commission will provide an overview of the program’s progress and host a panel discussion. Audience members can query the panelists.
Oct. 15 / Porterville Solar Panel Installation / Porterville
SCE begins work on the largest individual installation in its large solar photovoltaic program, which will cover unused industrial rooftops with photovoltaic panels to create 500 megawatts of clean, emission-free power for customers. The 29,300-panel, 6.7-million-watt installation in Porterville will create 100 temporary jobs and benefit the economy of the San Joaquin Valley. When completed, the 32-acre installation will add enough on-peak power to the local electrical grid to serve 4,300 average-sized homes. Currently, SCE is constructing seven rooftop sites totaling approximately 16 million watts on various Inland Empire commercial warehouses.
Oct. 16 and 17 / Volunteers Install Solar System for Low-Income Family / Duarte
Two dozen volunteers from SCE’s environmental affinity group, Eco IQ, will help with a Grid Alternatives community solar installation. Grid Alternatives is a nonprofit organization and a licensed electrical contractor that provides solar electric-installation services exclusively for low-income households.
Oct. 21 / Ribbon Cutting for Public Housing Solar Project / Indian Wells
The City of Indian Wells and SCE celebrate the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on a city-owned apartment building for low-income residents. Costs of the $3.2-million project were offset by $1.8 million in incentives from SCE. Residents benefit from lower electricity bills while producing a smaller carbon footprint.
Good to Know
-SCE leads the nation’s utilities in providing renewable energy to customers. In 2009, SCE purchased 13.6 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable power for its customers, about 17 percent of the total power it delivered. Of that total, 845,215 megawatt-hours were from solar thermal and solar photovoltaic projects, a 15-percent increase over the previous year. Since 2002, SCE has signed 84 contracts–46 of them for solar projects–that will result in the generation of up to 30.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year of renewable energy.
-SCE purchases approximately 50 percent of all the renewable energy generated in California. This represents almost 80 percent of all solar generation in the nation.
-The California Solar Initiative is a $2.1-billion statewide program that pays incentives to business and residential customers who install solar panels and/or water heaters. There are incentives for homes, businesses, new construction and multifamily units. SCE has nearly 13,000 customers who have installed or are in the process of installing solar systems. Since 2007, the inception of the California Solar Initiative, SCE has paid $131 million in incentives to customers who have “gone solar.” SCE has reserved another $388.4 million for others who commit to going solar. The program runs through Dec. 31, 2016, or until incentives run out.
-SCE has embarked on a project to install 500 megawatts–the output of a large power plant–of solar photovoltaic panels, mostly on otherwise unused industrial rooftops in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Project benefits include:
-More solar generation at half the cost of other solar photovoltaic installations.
-Jobs. SCE anticipates this project will create as many as 800 new green jobs in the solar industry.
-Rapidly dispatched solar generation with new installations connected directly to the nearest neighborhood circuit, eliminating the costly, time-consuming step of building and maintaining new transmission lines to bring power to customers.
-More power when needed. Solar photovoltaic generation peaks at approximately the same time of day that customer demand peaks.
-More power where needed. Solar sites are selected based on anticipated increases in customer power needs.
An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.
To register for a class or to get more information:
