Environmental Leader

The number of Californians installing solar panels hit their highest level ever in December, thanks to the state’s subsidies and rebates, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Residents filed a record 1,215 applications seeking solar subsidies in December, according to the California Public Utilities Commission; and more than 18,000 California homeowners and businesses have applied for rebates over the last two years.

Molly Sterkel, who manages rooftop solar efforts for the utilities commission, told the Los Angeles Times that new federal tax breaks have persuaded some homeowners to take the plunge. While others are being lured by new financing models pioneered in California that allow them to install solar panels for little or no money down.

California is the nations leader in rooftop solar, with more than half the installed capacity. This year alone, a record 133 megawatts of solar photovoltaics were installed in the state.

Earlier this year, EL reported about the California Solar Initiative. Started in 2006, the initiative aims to install 3,000 megawatts of solar photovoltaics by 2017.

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