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Rooftop Solar: California Legislature’s Newest Renewable Energy Campaign Is Through the Roof
Posted by: Jenna Cyprus June 30, 2015 in Culture and Society, Editor Pick: Culture and Society, Environment, Science and Technology
http://blogcritics.org/rooftop-solar-california-legislatures-newest-renewable-energy-campaign-is-through-the-roof/
California policy makers are at it again, this time pushing for even more sustainable legislation to cover the nation’s third largest state by area, particularly as it pertains to solar roofing. If the politicians behind this debate get their way, renewable energy will create more than half of the entire state’s electricity before the dawn of 2030. Current state law mandates 17 percent renewable energy.
Solar Panels on Every Rooftop

Several elements go into the policy under review, but none so prominent as the push for solar panels on every rooftop. This idea has sent the level of tension over the bill through the roof, with huge backlash from those who believe that rooftop solar panels will be more of a pain than they’re worth.
“The rooftop solar is going to be a big policy issue,” according to Anthony Rendon, an Assemblyman who also chairs the utilities and energy committee. “It’s also going to be a big political issue.”
And he couldn’t be more correct. The largest issues include working with unions, solar companies, and utilities to come up with a feasible plan at a cost the state and its residents can afford.
It seems that a major contributor to the continued squabbling over the policy is the fact that rooftop solar energy has not always been a part of the renewable energy portfolio. It’s a fairly recent investment, which also makes it a separate market from what the utilities and energy committees are used to dealing with. That makes it more complicated and expensive to implement. If the bill were pushing for wind or hydropower alone, it would likely be receiving much less backlash.
The Enforcers
Those who are running the campaign with full force include Senate President Pro Tem Kevin da León and Governor Jerry Brown, who have both forcefully endorsed the idea to the Senate, the Assembly, and the general populace. Though many Republicans also support the idea, it is largely a Democratic notion with a strong Democratic following.
Possibilities Abound
The integration of a 50/50 renewable energy system in the state of California seems not only possible, but probable. With Governor Brown and a myriad of other government officials pushing the legislation so aggressively, odds are it’s going to happen, and right on schedule.
“No one is questioning the quality of California’s burgeoning residential solar industry,” according to Ravi Chiuvolu of Sling Shot Power, a California clean energy provider. “Frankly it’s booming. The rest of the nation is looking to drought ridden California and wondering how we are doing it.”
Chiuvolu’s statement reflects the advanced state of California’s renewable energy sector. Many have even expressed disbelief that it took the state’s government this long to recognize and act on the innovation’s potential.
Thankfully, it looks like the policy has a deal with a series of investors who will be financing the project in order to offset the cost for consumers. The policy is almost certainly going to happen, so it’s up to California residents to jump on the rooftop solar panel train and get ahead of the initiative.