San Jose could be called Solar City

Green Energy
Alternative energy, cleantech and related topics.
San Jose brands itself the capital of Silicon Valley.

Now it can also call itself Solar City.

New data about the California Solar Initiative, the state's aggressive program to encourage homeowners, businesses, local governments and nonprofit organizations to install solar panels on their roofs, shows that San Jose has installed more solar power than any other city in the state.

From Jan. 1, 2007, to July 7, 2010, San Jose installed 14.9 megawatts of solar power on residential and commercial roofs, followed by San Diego with 11.3 MW and Fresno with 9.2 MW, according to an annual report released by the California Public Utilities Commission last week.

The news was no surprise to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who installed solar power at his own home about a year ago and has made renewable energy a key platform of his "Green Vision" for the city. The fact that San Jose averages more than 300 sunny days a year also helps.

"I'm not surprised that we're high up the list," Reed said Wednesday. "We've got some major solar installations in the city — including at eBay, Cypress Semiconductor and the San Jose Unified and East Side Union High School districts."

One megawatt is enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes. But since the sun doesn't shine all the time, solar industry experts say that 1 megawatt of solar can power about 200 households. Posted: 07/14/2010 05:08:35 PM PDT By Dana Hull


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