Kathleen's Comments

I'd love to know how we can find out what causes AAA is supporting... anyone have references for that. They're my auto club and insurance provider - I give them quite a bit of money each month and don't want to think its going against causes I support.

CA does have Time of Use metering - with a big fee for the meter itself. 

I had PV installed about 2 years ago and even then, after completion of the install PG&E took their sweet time to come out to inspect. It took so long that the company said 'go ahead, turn on your system, and we'll just turn it off the day they inspect'.... sad when you have to go to those lengths. 

Going 'green' for many companies is a way to appease the masses.. until corporate philosophies change and they realize the benefit to them of truly going green (and detriment of NOT 'going green') you'll have the ruse thats going on everywhere today. I'd love to see this article in the SF Chronicle!  Turn up the grass roots pressure on PG&E.

Colorado is a prime location for solar - the combination of 300+ days of sun per year and generally cooler temperatures make it ideas for PV. Glad to see it taking shape... Yes - give us Californians some competition!!

Great approach to providing access to renewable energy NOW - knowing that conventional utility costs will continue to increase while the cost of the installed system will remain fixed. Automatic gains and growth for the funding entity. Do any of the Carbon offset organizations fund activities like this? I know a great deal is being done in third world countries - but have not heard a lot about whats going on in the homefront.

I would like to see more of these for homeowners in my state (CA).

Wine truly from the sun. I'll drink to that! ;-)

California's role in this process will be primarily symbolic in my point of view - the per capita energy usage and amount of greenhouse gases we Californian's create are minor compared to other parts of the US. I think the focus needs to be on the economic advantages to 'going green' as thats the hardest sell - even to those who believe in reducing greenhouse gases.

To address the grass roots and what can we do! Car manufacturers are going to make the vehicles the consumers want. Grass roots work need to focus on educating the public - an easy example (as I sit here looking at my lunch) - TRANS FATS. Consumers got wind of the problem with trans fats, started complaining, getting more information. Products started coming out that were 'free of trans fats' - and now even the FDA is labelling the amount of trans fats in foods. Its doable on the grass roots, consumer level. As a prius driver, I 'voted' with my money for more fuel efficient cars. I can't tell you how many people come up to me on a daily basis asking about hybrid cars and saying they wish they had bought one instead of their gas guzzler.

Educating on REDUCING energy usage is also critical - mass transit, energy efficiency for home/office, recycling. We have to hit both sides of the equation.

Great news - but I would like to see the CPUC require a percentage of those RECs to come from solar pv - to help encourage PV development within the state. NJ has such a system and it appears to be quite successful.

A great step towards reducing our oil consumption and working towards an energy efficient society would come in reducing the government subsidies of fossil fuels. RE technologies and implementation do require 'incentives' and 'rebates' because the consumer is paying the full costs of those technologies. Switching the subsidy from Non-RE to RE would have little affect on govt budgets but a big impact on consumer behaviour.

Its great to see Habitat for Humanity embarking on a project like this! Bravo! "Zero Energy" homes should become common place moving forward - as we get beyond the cost barriers and educational/skill set limitations.
A huge element of 'zero energy' homes however is the people inhabiting them. As Mike Keesee (Project Mgr for SMUD ZEHs) has said,
"houses don't use electricity, people do". Creating a true "zero" energy home needs to combine education of the homeowner to energy conservation techniques as well.
Now's a great time for panel/inverter/shw/CF manufacturers to step up and offer discounts/product for new homes in the gulf coast - add to that all the groups that want to help people learn about PV, SHW, energy efficiency - to get out there and help build these homes the RIGHT way.

Partisan politics and catering to special interests is really what killed this bill. Both sides need to take the heat for this - and start acting on behalf of all their constituents and not their own personal gains.

We are a bizzaro state, I agree. The biggest disappointment is the discovering that the Dems are sooo motivated by money and special interests... yes, naive on my part to think otherwise. 'Politics' will kill this bill. When you find the center, let me know!

Its such a shame that people not even involved in solar installations now want to get in on a 'cash cow' as they see it. Solar installers have been out there, doing the work, in the trenches, building out systems with limited profits because they believe in what they are doing. Unions seem to only believe in making money. As a person who normally supports unions I'm appalled at the lack of foresight by these groups - out to make money with no concern for the effect of their actions on the 'common good'. Just shows how our democrats in Sacto are in the pockets of the unions- more concerned about pleasing them then doing the RIGHT THING. If this kills the bill, as I suspect it will, the backlash needs to rightfully go to the unions. They need to do the right thing and back off their requirements.

I live in a very windy part of a city - Oakland, CA - and have PV on my roof. The winds are pretty fierce in the afternoon and evening and I would love to install a turbine - but like most city dwellers have 2 significant obstacles - SPACE - and City Ordinances that do not allow for wind turbines. Wind would be a very effective solutions for cities like mine where the bay 'breathes' every day - sending wind up the down then back down the hill. Work needs to be done at the local government level to educate city planning/development officials and encourage changing of zoning laws before wind will 'take off' in that environment.

Excellent! Way to go SF - leading the way on renewable energy and sustainability. Now if we can get Taxis, delivery trucks (UPS, FEDEX) and mail trucks to follow suit a lot of the drivers who 'must' be on the road will be more friendly to the environment.

I wonder why, though, the bulk and breadth of the subsidies goes to industries that we know are a) mature and profitable, b) unsafe from a political and terrorism point of view, and c) bad for our environment. Personally, yes, I'm delighted that we got anything given this current administration and their relationship with fossil fuel - and I don't believe we should be sulking - but celebrating the crumbs thrown our way only allows the 'business as usual' folks to ignore us a bit longer.
Using these funds to build renewables, get the word out, build public sentiment is critical. Maybe come 2008 we'll have a better outlook - either driven by a shift in public sentiment against the war and oil or simply better 'inside the belway' leadership.