The huge 500-kilowatt solar installation at the Bay
Area Beverages building, which you can see while driving
west on 580 just before the Canal Boulevard exit, is quickly
becoming a landmark. This solar installation, along with
52 others in Richmond, was one of the reasons that the Northern
California Solar Energy Association recently gave the
city an award for installing more solar watts per capita
than any other large city in California.
“I think the category that Richmond won is one of the best
metrics to win,” said Adam Lenz, sustainability coordinator
for the city of Richmond. “It just shows in an even playing
field amongst cities, regardless of size, who is pulling
their weight the most by installing renewable energy.”
Based on the 2009
Bay Area Solar Installations Report, the Northern California
Solar Energy Association, on July 14th awarded prizes to
Richmond and other Bay Area cities for their adoption of
solar energy. Richmond won two awards in the large city
category: first place in watts per capita installed and
second place in total watts installed.
The report shows that the Bay Area leads California in new
solar installations. Since 2007, with the launch of the California
Solar Initiative, a state incentive program, the total
number of systems and total megawatts installed have almost
doubled and tripled, respectively, for both California and
the Bay Area. According to PG&E, since 2007 Richmond
has completed 94 solar installations through the California
Solar Initiative.
According to the report, although California’s overall rate
of photovoltaics installations remains strong, it has declined
slightly since 2008, due at least in part to the economic
downturn impacting California. Last year, however, the Bay
Area showed remarkable growth relative to the rest of California,
encompassing 61 percent of the state’s new installations
and 55 percent of the total megawatts installed.
Richmond appears as a leading large city in the report with
the most watts installed per capita —34.77. For total watts
installed between 2008 and 2009 Richmond had increased by
399 percent. Lenz said that he was quite surprised that Richmond
won the award. “In general Richmond has not necessarily had
the best press when it comes to environmental issues,” he
said.
San Jose won first place for total amount of solar watts
installed, and Richmond won second place. “That’s amazing
because we are not even the largest city in the Bay Area.
There are other cities in the Bay Area that are many times
the size of Richmond, yet we, over-installed them in 2009,”
said Lenz.
According to PG&E, in Richmond there were six new residential
installations in 2007. In 2008 there were 18 residential
installations and three non-residential. In 2009 there were
44 residential and 9 non-residential. So far in 2010 there
have been 13 residential and 1 non-residential new solar
installations.
Most solar installations in the state and Bay Area are residential
— 93 percent — and the rest are commercial, government and
from nonprofit organizations, according to the 2009 report.
But in Richmond, the large, non-residential installations
generate most of the city’s solar power. “Large installations
got us to the watts per capita and we got the award,” said
Michele McGeoy, the Executive Director of Solar
Richmond, a nonprofit that provides solar installation
and training. She said that in Berkeley, which was awarded
first place for the number of systems per capita, residents
probably installed smaller systems.
McGeoy thinks that when businesses choose solar it is because
they care about doing something that’s good for the environment.
“It’s also is an economic decision because they save money
over time,” she said.
The 2009 Bay Area Solar Installations Report listed several
reasons for the adoption of solar power in the Bay Area:
“solar-friendly utility rates, net metering, ample sun exposure,
supportive local, state, and federal government programs
and legislation, and a strong environmental ethic.”
For Richmond whether it’s a business, residence or non-profit
the incentives include a 30 percent federal tax credit called
the Solar Investment Tax Credit. At a state level, the California
Solar Initiative rebates 65 cents per watt installed for
residential accounts.
Several programs are also available to help those interested
in installing solar systems. State-funded programs such as Smart
Solar provide free third party technical assistance to
Richmond residents and businesses. Rising
Sun Energy Center manages two residential energy efficiency
programs in Richmond: California
Youth Energy Services and Green Energy Training Services. Grid
Alternatives provides free and discounted solar installations
to low-income families through the Single-family
Affordable Solar Homes program, which is funded by the
state.
The city of Richmond doesn’t yet provide any incentives,
like rebates, for installing solar systems, although it does
not charge residents for a permit fee for solar installations.
The city also supports programs that encourage solar energy
use and installation. One of the city programs is RichmondBUILD,
a green jobs training academy that started in 2007. Trainees
from RichmondBUILD get skills for installing solar through
training at a nonprofit/program called Solar Richmond. “Solar
installation creates more local jobs,” said Lenz. “We have
a history of being a blue collar city and we are transforming
into a green collar city.”
Sunlight Electric,
LLC, a solar company from San Francisco, hired workers
trained at RichmondBUILD and Solar Richmond to install
the solar system at the Bay Area Beverages building. Rob
Erlichman, CEO of Sunlight Electric, said that his company
wanted to support the Richmond community. “What was great
about the Richmond Solar Program was that we were able
to utilize a pull of solar-trained local people,” Erlichman
said.
The city is also making other efforts to generate more renewable
energy. Over the last three years, the Richmond
Redevelopment Agency installed 24 solar photovoltaic
systems on low-income Richmond homes as part of a low-income
solar installation program. Last year the city installed
solar panels on City Hall and the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.
The library also has 75 kilowatts of solar installed.
This summer the city will release a request for proposal
to increase solar capacity in city facilities with the goal
of eventually providing 50 percent of municipal power from
local, renewable energy. “We’re going to use this as an opportunity
to increase our solar capacity and stimulate the local economy,”
said Lenz. “We have a long way to go but we’ve made some
pretty good strides in the last couple years.”
