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Tag:

economic development

GoSolarSF Progress Report: Economic & Environmental Benefits of San Francisco’s Solar Program

GoSolarSF Progress Report: Economic & Environmental Benefits of San Francisco’s Solar Program

written by The Vote Solar Initiative

Massive reductions in the price of solar means that more Americans are benefiting from this bill-saving, job-creating homegrown resource. Residential solar adoption is through the roof even as incentive programs have wound down in major markets like California. In fact, more than one out of every three new U.S. residential solar energy systems installed in Q1 of this year did so without state incentives. And those installations are overwhelmingly occurring in middle-income neighborhoods – an impressive testament to our nation’s solar progress.

With cost-competitive solar increasingly within reach for the middle class, there remains an important role for incentive programs that are focused on bringing those same benefits to disadvantaged families. In 2008, the City of San Francisco launched GoSolarSF to do just that. The program provides a one-time incentive payment for solar on homes, businesses and non-profit organizations (including local government facilities) with additional support for consumers meeting low-income requirements. And while any local solar development means local job creation, GoSolarSF was designed to further ensure that those jobs are accessible to disadvantaged San Franciscans through a workforce development program.

In order to help quantify the real-world impacts of GoSolarSF, we produced a report on the market, economic and environmental benefits of solar energy systems installed or in the queue for the program as of April 2014. Top level findings include:

Solar Market Development:

  • More than 3,070 solar energy systems on San Francisco homes, businesses, non-profits and local government facilities
  • Nearly 10,160 kW of total solar capacity
  • An impressive 37% of residential capacity (kW) was installed on qualifying low-income single-family and multi-family homes

Economic Development:

  • Installations driving $65 million in investment in the local San Francisco economy
  • Installations supporting more than 400 local jobs and $19.5-$22.8 million in wages that can be reinvested in the local economy
  • Workforce Development program providing 121 direct solar job placements for San Francisco residents who otherwise face barriers to employment
  • Workers of color representing the largest populations served by the Workforce Development program with 40% Black/African American and 22% Latino/Hispanic job placements
  • 31 solar companies participating in the local Workforce Development program
  • National solar leaders have chosen employ hundreds of local workers because of GoSolarSF and the City’s nationally-recognized culture of solar policy innovation

Environmental Benefits:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 172,631,800 pounds over the lifetime of installed systems, helping meet the City’s climate action goals
  • Reducing the need for fossil-based peak power generation, which has historically disproportionately impacted the health of low-income families

In short, GoSolarSF has encouraged significant private investment in San Francisco’s local solar market, which has in turn delivered economic and environmental benefits to the greater community. The City by the Bay’s solar program has given thousands of San Francisco energy consumers control over their electricity sources and utility bills by making solar power a cost-effective option. And – most exciting – the program’s focus on empowering low-income and underserved members of the community to participate in and benefit from the city’s growing solar economy has proven particularly successful.

You can read and download the full report for yourself below. Big thanks to our friends at Brightline Defense, Luminalt, and Asian Neighborhood Design for their help with this report as well as their huge role in bringing solar benefits to those who need them most via GoSolarSF.



June 24, 2014 0 comment
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IRENA Announces Funding for Renewable Energy Projects in Developing World

written by Walter Wang

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development announced yesterday funding totaling $41 million in concessional loans for renewable energy projects in six developing countries: Ecuador, Sierra Leone, the Maldives, Mauritania, Samoa, and Mali.

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January 19, 2014 4 comments
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15 Tips for Clean/Green Tech Accelerator Success

written by Walter Wang

I’ve been helping behind the scenes on a new cleantech incubator recently launched in Vancouver, Canada called the Foresight Cleantech Accelerator. And in the process, I’ve been getting the opportunity to learn what other accelerators and incubators are doing well, and not so well, around the world.

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July 19, 2013 0 comment
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Top Ten Highlights of Cleantech in Puerto Rico

written by Walter Wang

Puerto Rico currently generates an estimated 70 percent of their electric energy from fossil fuels. Due to the rising cost of fossil fuels and compounded by concerns over climate change, Puerto Rico has realized that they have an obligation to promote healthy economic development and a healthy environment. Puerto Rico’s Constitution supports the

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April 26, 2012 0 comment
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Top Ten Highlights of Cleantech in Colorado

written by Walter Wang

Colorado, known as the Centennial State, is also known for its many clean technology and sustainability highlights. The state is always looking for new projects to employ that will aid the state in reaching its renewable energy goals and decreasing carbon dioxide emissions by employing renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, including schools,

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April 17, 2012 0 comment
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Cleantech Clusters – Scaling Local Economic Development for Global Investment

written by Walter Wang

The Case For Global Cleantech Clusters:

Presented by: The Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA)

There has been an explosion of cleantech clusters around the world, promising to help accelerate financing, growth, job creation and the next generation of sustainable technologies. Contents of this article were recently published in Environmental Finance (March 2012).

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April 14, 2012 0 comment
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$2.7 Million Solar Panel Factory Opens in Naivasha, Kenya

written by Walter Wang

Ubbink East Africa has built a $2.7 million solar panel factory in Naivasha, Kenya. Ubbink East Africa Managing Director Haijo Kuper said during the official opening ceremony that the company will be producing 100 solar panels per day at the new facility, noting, “Our prices are at par with our

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September 6, 2011 0 comment
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At the Intersection of Conservation and the Economy: Jobs

written by Walter Wang

From the beginning of his Administration, President Obama has been a champion for the wise stewardship of America's natural treasures, understanding the strong connection between the health of our lands and waters and the health of our economy. Smart, community-led conservation presents a tremendous

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August 18, 2011 0 comment
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San Antonio Utility Increases Order to 400 MW of Solar

written by Walter Wang

CPS, the municipal utility in San Antonio, Texas, is making a strong play for favorite utility of the year. The city has a 14 MW plant up and running, contracts for another 3 plants of 10 MW each, and an oversubscribed standard offer contract program for another 10 MW. All pleasant experiences to date…so much so that

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July 11, 2011 0 comment
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PA Governor Gives Energy Executive Supreme Authority Over Environmental Permitting

written by Walter Wang

Pennsylvania has come under fire lately as pollution from drilling in the Marcellus Shale threatens water resources across the state. But instead of ratcheting up oversight, Gov. Tom Corbett wants to hand authority over some of the state’s most critical environmental decisions to C. Alan Walker, a Pennsylvania energy executive with his

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March 10, 2011 0 comment
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Grants Available For Sustainable Communities

written by

Last week, we took another big step forward in the Obama Administration’s efforts to encourage more sustainable development as we announced $100 million for our new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program to encourage regions to integrate economic development, land use, and transportation investments – which will help to tie the quality and location of housing to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, quality schools, and safe streets.

For all the implications of “sprawl”—from job loss

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June 28, 2010 0 comment
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