Written by: Mark Olalde, Palm Springs Desert Sun

Solar energy capacity continues to grow in cities around the country, and Palm Springs ranks second behind only Honolulu in the amount installed per-capita, according to a new report released Wednesday.

The study is the seventh annual iteration of a nationwide survey on solar generation, and it was conducted by advocacy organization Environment California and Frontier Group, a think tank. They found that the amount of solar installed in just seven cities is greater than the total amount available around the country only a decade ago.

“The home of the future is a solar home,” David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, said during a presentation unveiling the report. The commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency but it was not involved in producing the report.

There are 57 cities that have been surveyed in each iteration of the report, and nearly 90% of those more than doubled. 

Los Angeles and San Diego topped the nationwide list of cities with the highest amount of total installed solar photovoltaic capacity, with three other California cities —Sacramento, San Francisco and Riverside — also making the top 20. 

Palm Springs had about 790 watts per person, as compared to about 840 watts per person in Honolulu, both of which far exceed the rest of the country in terms of the per capita rate.

The report said city council decisions helped spur action locally in Palm Springs. In 2007, the council first approved a plan to "make the maximum use of solar electric capabilities," which included encouraging new homes to be built with solar panels.

The amount of electricity generated in the Golden State by solar has exploded in the past seven years, and carbon-free sources — including renewables like solar and wind and other non-fossil fuel sources like nuclear and large-scale hydropower — now make up nearly two-thirds of the state's energy portfolio, Hochschild said.

And the growth in rooftop and community solar has not been confined to the usual suspects. Central Valley cities including Bakersfield and Fresno have some of the state's highest per-capita solar capacity, according to the study.

“We actually are seeing solar energy embraced throughout California. It is not just a coastal technology," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association.

California, which aims to go carbon neutral by 2045, celebrated the installation of solar panels on 1 million roofs late last year. Now, environmental groups are pushing for a new target: 1 million homes with battery storage.

This will make communities more resilient to natural disaster-induced blackouts as well as climate change in general, said Fran Pavley, a former state senator who works with the Schwarzenegger Institute.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the impacts of climate change, something I didn’t think I’d see in my lifetime," she said. “There’s no such thing as a fire season anymore. It’s year-round.”

A state rule mandates that all new homes be built with solar panels, a move heralded by the solar industry and environmentalists for guaranteeing increased capacity. But, the California Energy Commission in February unanimously passed the first exemption to that rule, leading to concerns that the plan could lose ground.

And the solar industry, alongside renewables in general, has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. Del Chiaro said that 21% of jobs in the state's industry evaporated between mid-March and mid-April as stay-at-home orders and business closures stalled the economy.

Dan Jacobson, director of Environment California, said that the rate of solar panel installations has fallen due to the pandemic, but he argued that renewable energy should be an integral part of an economic recovery.

"We really need to come out of this pandemic greener than we went into it," he said. "With all the attention that’s been paid to jump-starting the economy and putting people back to work, solar — especially rooftop solar paired with storage — can play a leading role in that.”S

See original article here.