At the 2013 North America Intersolar Conference in San Francisco, California Governor Jerry Brown, and many others spoke confidently about solar opportunities in California. “Just within the last two months we actually recorded over 2,000 MW of solar energy being put into the grid…,” Governor Brown reported. He also confirmed his “goal of 1 million solar rooftops.” He encourages a call to action, marshaling “intelligence and collaboration and political response…” You can hear Governor Brown’s 2013 North America Intersolar Conference Keynote Address here.
Governor Brown launched California’s first round of solar incentives in 1978, during his first two-term tenure as the Governor of the State of California. California now puts more than 2,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of solar power into its grid, and Governor Brown wants to see 1 million GWh by 2025, to meet the 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. The state now has 130,000 photovoltaics (PV) installations on homes and businesses, growing toward Governor Brown’s stated goal of a million solar roofs.