CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles County officials this week launched a new “solar mapping” website, lacounty.solarmap.org, that lets residents and business owners determine whether their properties would benefit from solar power.

The site evaluates a building’s potential to generate solar power based on roof size, pitch and shade from nearby trees, buildings and mountains.

By typing in an address, users can check a property’s roof size, space for solar panels, potential electricity production, electricity savings, carbon reduction, nearby solar installations, utility company rebates and solar panel installer information.

The website, which has information covering 3,000 square miles, will be featured today -- Earth Day -- at the daylong National Conversation on Climate Action conference at Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s headquarters in L.A.. The site cost $93,500 to develop, based on high-resolution imagery and elevation information the county acquired in 2006. County officials plan to use the site to determine whether to install cost-saving devices such as solar water heaters and panels at 800 county buildings, said Internal Services Director Tom Tindall.

County officials are also developing a program to help residents and business owners pay for solar panels by borrowing money from the county and paying it back through property tax bills.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske