Hahn Seeks More Use of Solar Power

Prodded by environmentalists, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn on Friday endorsed a goal of generating 1% of the city’s electricity from solar power by 2017 and directed a task force to come up with a plan.

Los Angeles gets about four megawatts from solar power and would have to increase that to 80 megawatts to reach the target, said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA, which recommended the 1% figure in a report released Friday.

Reaching 80 megawatts would mean spending $200 million to install solar panels on about 30,000 rooftops. But Petersen said the Department of Water and Power could reduce its share of that cost through private funding and state grants.

Hahn said attaining the 1% goal would eliminate about 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide pollution annually, equivalent to the exhaust from 16,000 cars.

The mayor said the accomplishment would not only help reduce air pollution, but also boost the economy.

“Solar technology is not just good for the environment, but we think it is a great job creator as well,” Hahn said at a City Hall news conference.

Reaching 1% would generate enough electricity to power 10,000 homes, according to Councilman Eric Garcetti, who said his home had a solar array that met about 85% of his family’s electricity needs.

Hahn said he would ask a “green ribbon” panel he set up last year on renewable energy programs to find ways to expand solar power. But at least one member of the task force thinks that’s a bad idea.

Brian D’Arcy, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 11, said the mayor’s support for the 1% goal was election year “pandering” to environmentalists.

“It’s going to bankrupt the department,” said D’Arcy, whose union represents DWP workers. He also complained that solar-energy businesses were not unionized. He said that the DWP produced electricity for residential customers from coal for 3 cents a kilowatt-hour, but that solar power can cost 83 cents a kilowatt-hour.

“Who’s going to pay for that? In the long run, it’s going to be the ratepayers,” D’Arcy said.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks also opposes expanding solar power if it is much more costly. He has introduced a motion asking the DWP not to buy any alternative power that costs more than 7 cents a kilowatt-hour without council approval.

Petersen said that, although natural gas could cost about 9.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, that sum was likely to increase in a volatile market. He also said environmental restrictions on coal could drive up its price.

On the other hand, Petersen said the price of solar power was coming down as technology improved. He said the 83-cent estimate was for a complicated system built by the DWP. Others, he said, deliver solar power at about 29 cents per kilowatt-hour.

He also said that if the DWP developed solar-power systems, the jobs would be unionized.

The department spends about $12 million annually on solar-power incentives, which Global Green USA estimates has helped create about 1,000 jobs. If the city invests more heavily in solar power, it will bring more companies and jobs to the area, Petersen predicted.

“Los Angeles could become a solar city, a veritable solar Silicon Valley,” he said. “We can generate high-wage jobs, stimulate the economy and clean our air by installing solar panels on all city buildings.”

Hahn and Petersen were joined at the news conference by environmental activists -- including actress Sharon Lawrence, probably best known for her role on the TV show “NYPD Blue” -- and solar industry representatives.

Hahn suggested covering some of the cost out of the $400 million the DWP had planned to spend on expanding the Intermountain Power Agency coal plant in Utah. The mayor ended Los Angeles’ involvement in that project last year.

The city initiative comes as state officials are proposing a program to create 2,000 megawatts of solar power statewide. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Sen. Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) have proposed installing solar power systems on 1 million homes. State legislation would require builders to offer new-home buyers the solar-power option.

In addition, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) has introduced legislation to create a revolving loan fund that would offer interest-free financing for the installation of solar-power systems.

“That should be a powerful incentive to get more solar out there,” said Louise Rishoff, an aide to Pavley.