GCC: $2.9 Billion Solar Energy

Green Car Congress reports some good news: California PUC Adopts $2.9 Billion Solar Energy Initiative

The California Public Utilities Commission today voted to adopt a $2.9-billion plan designed to add 3,000 MW of solar capacity to homes and buildings in California by 2017. This is the largest solar program of its kind in any state in the country.[...]

The target of 3,000 MW is roughly equivalent to the output of six large power plants, or enough to serve 2.3 million people. Currently, the entire US has about 397 MW of solar energy capacity in place, according to the EIA—the smallest amount of the major renewable sources of power generation.

10x the current installed base? We will see if this yields the expected build out. SF passed bonds intended to spur a whole lot of renewable energy installations. I was happy to vote for it. But language in the bond requiring that each project be economically viable has thus far meant that almost nothing has been built. This fund will definitely grow. The question is who will build what and when.