City Offers Hefty Rebates for Going Solar

Seeking to encourage wider use of alternative energy, Los Angeles has begun offering rebates to customers who install solar power systems in their homes or businesses.

The rebate program, which began quietly in October, will be unveiled at Department of Water and Power headquarters today. Customers can get back up to 60% of the cost of a solar power system, which can total about $16,000 for the typical home.

Currently, only about 100 DWP customers use solar power, said Angelina Galiteva, the agency’s executive director of strategic planning. But interest has increased dramatically because of California’s energy crisis.

“We used to get about two to three calls a day inquiring about solar power,” Galiteva said. “Now, we get over 150 calls a day. We have had over 1,000 requests for rebate applications.”

With a $5-per-watt rebate, the typical consumer would receive $10,000 back from either the city or a manufacturer on a $16,000 system.

Galiteva said officials hope the rebate plan not only will encourage customers to use alternative power, but also will attract manufacturers of these systems to the city.

One such company, German electronics maker Siemens, will open a Chatsworth factory to build solar electricity systems for consumers and businesses, officials said.

Since the 1970s, solar energy has been favored as an environmentally friendly power source but was considered impractical because of the high cost of the equipment needed to produce it.

But Galiteva said that customers would come out ahead over the 25-year life of the system, especially if current electricity rates continue to increase or as clean-air rules require more expensive pollution-control equipment.

Chet Farris, chief operations officer for Siemens Solar, a Camarillo-based subsidiary, said company officials have finalized a deal to lease a 30,000-square-foot factory in an industrial building at 20150 Sunburst St. Production of solar power units will begin in March.

The factory will eventually employ as many as 50 people, including a sales department as well as training facilities for local electricians and contractors, Farris said.

Company officials estimate the factory eventually will generate $40 million in annual revenue and be profitable by 2003.

“This technology has been perfected in spacecraft and satellites technology,” said the DWP’s Galiteva. “Now we have to bring the cost back down to Earth through mass production and volume sales.”