CLEAN LA Solar brings power online, primed for expansion
Since opening its first tranche in February, LADWP has received applications totaling more than 115 MW.
Yesterday in Los Angeles, Mayor Villaraigosa ‘switched on’ a rooftop solar installation atop a multi-family apartment building – the first project to come online as part of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) CLEAN LA Solar Program. Since opening the first 20 MW tranche in February, LADWP has received applications totaling more than 115 MW – signaling strong demand for solar distributed generation (DG) and correct pricing. Notably, many of the proposed projects will bring DG to underserved communities with a high solar resource and also to areas with minimal interconnection costs.
Given such significant and favorable results, CLEAN LA is primed for further expansion. Eric Garcetti, LA’s newly elected mayor, committed to producing 1,200 MW of local solar energy in LA by 2016, half of which LADWP will bring online through the CLEAN LA Solar Program. In total, 1,200 MW of new local solar would inject more than $2 billion into the city’s economy – creating jobs, reducing pollution, and locking in affordable energy rates for consumers.
The Clean Coalition has also been working with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to expand production of clean local energy in its service territory. Given the strong success of LIPA’s 50 MW CLEAN Solar Initiative, the Clean Coalition expects to see exciting news coming out of Long Island in the very near future.
Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Business Council.
