A Natural for California

A key Assembly committee has a chance today to put California in the forefront of progressive energy policy, taking up the leadership that Congress has long abandoned. A bill that would gently encourage solar energy systems comes up before the Utilities and Commerce Committee, which killed similar legislation last year.

As oil hovers near $60 a barrel, members of the committee are surely ready to reconsider their opposition. A state this sunny should commit to using energy that otherwise goes to waste.

Senate Bill 1 would require builders of new homes to offer solar energy systems as an option that would cost about $15,000 per house. A state rebate of about $5,000, plus a tax credit, would draw buyers to consider it. They also would save on utility bills over the years and own a home with a greater resale value. Schools, businesses and existing homes also could use the subsidy.

The bipartisan measure faces opposition from businesses and some consumer groups because a surcharge on electric bills would fund the subsidy. But the fee would amount to only slightly more than a dollar a month per household, and the bill has been changed to cap the overall subsidy, controlling the surcharge.

More troubling, a labor group insists that the bill be amended to require prevailing wages -- which in many regions means union-level wages -- for solar installers. Unions hope to take existing law, requiring state building projects to pay prevailing wages, and extend it to private construction that receives a partial subsidy. Such a provision, adding about 20% to the cost of solar construction, would throw off the legislation’s delicate balance of expenses and recovered costs.

The goal is not just to put solar energy systems on 300,000 more roofs. It’s to make solar stand on its own legs. Increased demand, coupled with technological advances, could bring down the cost of solar energy to the point where it would attract any business or homeowner, even without rebates.

It’s clean, never runs out and doesn’t involve drilling off the California coast or relying on foreign oil powers. That’s more than reason enough for the state to invest in solar energy. Committee members who think in larger terms than political and labor snits will vote in favor of SB 1.