A powerful idea

ONE OF THE BRIGHTER IDEAS to come out of Sacramento in recent years is a proposal to encourage buyers of new homes to equip them with solar panels. Schools, farms, businesses and public agencies could benefit too. At last, the state could claim it’s really doing something to wean itself from polluting, petroleum-fueled electric power production.

The measure, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has embraced, would require contractors by 2010 to offer new-home buyers the option of solar installation, just as they would pick their kitchen tile. The systems would cost about $15,000, but a state rebate of about $5,000 plus tax credits would make the option more attractive (especially because buyers also would save on energy bills and have a house with higher resale value). The rebates would be phased out over the course of the program after encouraging development of the best possible solar technology.

The bill sailed through the Senate on a 30-5 vote and breezed through its first two Assembly committees. But now it’s snarled in partisan politics and special-interest bargaining. Backers are concerned about its chances of passage this year. A critical vote on the bill is scheduled today in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Many observers blame the delay on Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), saying the speaker is reluctant to give the governor a victory going into the Nov. 8 special election campaign. If so, it’s a foolish and shortsighted strategy. If this bill dies, it will only make the Assembly look bad. Besides, the bill’s author, state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City), was sponsoring solar legislation long before Schwarzenegger ran for governor.

Another hurdle is that some labor unions and electrical contractor groups are demanding guarantees in the law that their members will get the work on the solar systems. Ideally, the bill would be silent on those issues, but pressures from those sources have prevailed up to now. A possible compromise would be to limit such guarantees to the construction or retrofitting of large public projects.

The program is projected to provide the electricity that would be produced by five or six major power generation stations, helping end the state’s chronic power shortages and clean the air. More than that, it would establish solar as a major player in California’s power generation system into the future. Here’s a chance for the Assembly to demonstrate that good public policy still matters in Sacramento.