San Francisco’s program to provide financial incentives for installing solar panels will receive an additional $2 million in funding in the next fiscal year, Mayor Ed Lee announced today.
GoSolarSF, which started in 2008, has paid out more than $17 million in incentives to applicants but has seen reduced funding in recent years because of the economic downturn, Lee said.
The mayor joined other city officials to announce the new funding this morning on the roof of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco’s Columbia Park Clubhouse at 450 Guerrero St., where solar panels were recently installed.
“This program has been invaluable to the city,” he said.
However, demand is outweighing supply for the incentives for the program, which reached its budget capacity for the most recent quarter. Applications for funding in the upcoming quarter starting April 1 will begin being accepted next Monday.
Supervisor Scott Wiener said, “The fact that it continually runs out of money is proof that people…are really eager to get help to put solar panels up on their roofs.”
Wiener, whose district includes the Boys & Girls Club building, said it was an example of a flat-roofed structure that is ideal for solar panel installation.
The city officials presented the Boys & Girls Club with a rebate check for more than $43,000 for installing its solar panels, which are expected to cut the organization’s electricity bills in half and pay for themselves in a little over a year.
More information about GoSolarSF, as well as directions for applying for the incentives for residents, businesses or nonprofits, can be found online at www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=133.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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