California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger renewed his commitment on Monday to increasing the state's renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.
The governor made the remarks when announcing the completion of California's first of 150 planned commercial rooftop solar installations in Southern California.
"Here in California, we are taking action to protect the environment by passing laws and setting standards and our companies and entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge," said Schwarzenegger.
The rooftop plan "is the nation's largest solar installation program by a utility and it is just one example of how private companies are helping us reduce our emissions and meet our renewable energy goals," he said.
"Projects like this one show the world you can protect the environment and also pump up the economy, and I am proud to say it is happening right here in California."
Earlier this year, the governor participated in an event launching the plan to install photovoltaic technology to eventually cover two square miles (3.2 kilometers) of existing commercial roofs with 250 million megawatts (MW) of peak generating capacity.
This first completed project on top of the ProLogis Warehouse consists of 33,700 advanced thin-film solar panels that is generating enough power during peak output to meet the needs of approximately 1,300 homes or 2 MW of clean energy.
These types of renewable energy projects will help California in meeting its short- and long-term goals while also helping the state meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets because they produce no greenhouse gases and burn no fossil fuels.
Last month the governor signed an executive order to streamline California's renewable energy project approval process and announced his plans to propose legislative language to expand the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33 percent renewable power by 2020.
As part of the state's efforts to increase renewable energy, the governor's Million Solar Roofs Plan, signed into law in 2006, will provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gases by 3 million tons, equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the road. Now known as the California Solar Initiative, the 3.3-billion-dollar incentive plan for homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems will lead to 1 million solar roofs in California by 2017.
