SF Mayor to Sign Largest City Solar Program in U.S.

Last week we brought you news that San Francisco was oh-so close to getting the largest city-backed solar incentive program in the U.S.; all the project needed was the John Hancock of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Well, this morning the mayor’s office says the city’s solar incentive energy program will get the official signature today and could go into effect as early as July 1.

The program will dole out up to $6,000 per project in tax credits annually to San Franciscans who put solar on their roofs for a total of $3 million. This will make some solar system installations cost less than $10,000 — well within “credit card territory.”

The program is part of the city’s effort to become a solar leader. In an interview last week, Mayor Newsom told us his goal is to make San Francisco the American version of Berlin — a city that has both high solar generation and a strong solar industry, backed by aggressive city incentives.

It’ll be a long haul. Currently, the city has less than 5 megawatts of rooftop solar, the least capacity per capita of all the counties in the Bay Area. San Francisco officials hope that this $3 million a year in public funds will leverage an additional $1.5 million in private investment and fund 55 megawatts of distributed solar over the next decade.

Newsom will sign the legislation this morning at Project Open Hand’s solar rooftop near San Francisco City Hall, bringing together Newsom’s two big causes — solar and homelessness — in one perfect photo opp. We’ll check out the festivities and bring you the latest.

Photo Courtesy of Thomas J. Gibbons via the mayor’s office.