The City of Santa Monica has an ambitious goal to become a net-zero, energy independent city by 2020.
Solar Santa Monica is a program of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment.
Solar Santa Monica helps residents, businesses and property owners reduce energy consumption and generate clean, renewable energy onsite. Our Contractor Network is a tool to help you find a licensed,
reliable contractor.
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City Solar Project Underway!
 | | Solar Santa Monica is investigating all City properties for solar potential, including the Arcadia Water Treatment Facility in LADWP territory, shown above. |
Santa Monica is aways looking for new opportunities to cut greenhouse gas emissions, save operating costs, and generate clean renewable energy in the abundant sunshine that shines on our City. This month the City has initiated a solar feasibility study, looking at ALL city-owned properties. New financing mechanisms such as CREBs or PPAs now make it more viable for the City to install solar because they alleviate or eliminate upfront costs.
For the City to reach its commitment of being net-zero, it needs over 95MW of clean energy capacity.
While still in the very beginning stages of the solar feasibility study, we expect the Parking Structures and the Main Library to yield some of the best solar opportunities. The Solar Santa Monica program will be working closely with City department heads, Southern California Edison, Commerce Energy, and Preferred Contractors to find the best solar scenario possible. 2011 is going to be an exciting year.
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Energy Upgrade California - An Introduction
The first step towards living a greener life is to minimize the energy consumption of your home. Not only will it help you save money on your monthly energy bills, but it will also potentially reduce the size and cost of a solar system you wish to install. Energy Upgrade California is making it easier than ever to get the physical upgrades your home needs. Starting in early 2011, new rebates and incentives of up to $4,500 will help the residents of Santa Monica save even more!
Using the "whole house" approach, different upgrade packages will ensure that all the systems in your home will be optimized to work together to reduce energy consumption by 10-40%. Solar Santa Monica will inform you of the program's progress, but in the meantime, to learn more about the Energy Upgrade California program or to find a participating contractor click here.
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End-of-Year Energy Tax Planning
As always, the end of the year brings opportunities for tax planning. This year is no exception. On the energy front, December 31 marks the end of energy efficiency tax credits. Taxpayers could (still can, if they hurry) get up to $1,500 for installing certain energy efficiency upgrades like new windows, doors, insulation, etc.; this credit disappears at the end of the year.
The tax credit for solar systems continues into 2011 at 30% of the cost; the tax grant, which offered the 30% immediately, disappears at the end of 2010.
Business owners are also watching bonus depreciation go away for energy purchases such as hybrid vehicles or other equipment with a useful like of 20 years or less. Bonus depreciation allows you to write off 50% of the price for business assets purchases in 2010. Next year, it's back to the usual depreciation schedules.
On the plus side, the one-time Section 179 expense option for 2010 continues at $500,000 - this is twice the 2009 limit.
Caution: The above are only guidelines. If you are planning major energy purchases before the end of the year, seek professional tax advice about your own circumstances - as always.
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End of the Year Statistics
In 2010 we saw SMMUSD move forward with their solar PPA contract for 733kW, SMC install 347 kW on two of their parking structures, and many other residential and business owners followed suit. To sum up, another successful year with many new Solar Champions in Santa Monica!
*Here is an approximate count of installations completed in 2010:
Residential: 45 (188 kW AC)
Commercial: 2 (45 kW AC)
Institutional: 1 (347 kW AC)
Approximate Total: 48 Solar PV Systems (580 kW AC)
*From CSI Rebate Database: www.californiasolarstatistics.org
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Solar Santa Monica's daily activities are supported by Volunteer Ben Mullen, working on the City Solar Project, and Drew Lowell-Britt, Solar Specialist on the EcoMotion team.
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For questions and comments, please contact:
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Solar Santa Monica
1212 5th Street, First Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90401
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