Nov 25 2008
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Jan Perry and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has unveiled Solar LA, the country’s largest solar power plan, which will jumpstart the green economy in Los Angeles with the installation of 1.3 gigawatts of solar power.
“It is time that we use our most abundant natural resource to create the electricity and the jobs we need for our future,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “Today, we are turning up the heat and taking the next step to become a shining example of green growth worldwide.”
Solar LA, the largest solar project undertaken by any single city in the world, lays out a far-reaching course of action to create a 1.3 gigawatt solar network of residential, commercial and municipally-owned solar systems to replace more volatile fossil fuels during peak energy demand.
As cities and countries worldwide struggle to deal with the devastating effects of climate change and curb their contribution to the global crisis, Solar LA will cut Los Angeles’ carbon emissions and give the City a steady supply of clean, renewable energy to power its future.
Solar LA also represents a major opportunity to turn environmental solutions into economic opportunities for Angelenos by investing in and stimulating the local economy. With every 10 megawatts (MW) of solar potentially creating 200 to 400 jobs, Solar LA will jumpstart Los Angeles’ cleantech economy by spurring greencollar jobs across a broad range of occupations: research and development, manufacturing, installation, maintenance and repair.
"Los Angeles is becoming greener and cleaner, and now we're launching the nation's most aggressive municipal solar plan. Going solar will not only help clean up our environment, it will create good jobs and help grow this sector of our economy," said Council President Eric Garcetti.
"Los Angeles is the sunshine capital, making it one of the best solar resources in the nation, if not the world. It makes sense that our City would take the lead in delivering innovative, environmentally-friendly technology and make job development and training in the field of solar energy a top priority," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, Chair of the City Council's Energy and Environment Committee.
The Solar LA plan consists of three primary components: Programs to boost residential and commercial customer solar systems; LADWP-owned solar projects in Los Angeles; and large-scale solar projects owned by the LADWP outside of the LA basin.