California's new solar plan is in need of a major revision. As it's written now, the law undermines conversion to solar power. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce explains.
The plan seemed simple. State and federal rebates would save homeowners money if they used solar. But a glitch in the new solar law actually made it more expensive for many to put electricity-generating solar panels on their roofs.
Cecilia Aguillon, with San Diego-based Kyocera Solar, says the state's program caused their residential sales to dry up. She says the solar program is great -- on paper.
Aguillon : And it doesn't matter how beautiful the program is or the law is, if the implementation gets screwed up, you don't have a program. That's where we are today. But it has to be fixed, otherwise we don't have a solar program.
She says solar installers say the new program dropped sales 70 percent across the state. Governor Schwarzenegger now has an agreement with state legislators to fix the flaw. A proposed change drops a requirement that solar rebate applicants sign up for costly pricing plans from the state's three investor-owned utilities -- including San Diego Gas & Electric.
Ed Joyce, KPBS News.
