FIGHT OVER L.A. SUN

Measure B Shaping Up to be March’s Big Ballot Brouhaha; Bringing Solar Power to City Buildings Raises Questions
Linda Coburn, February 16, 2009 (San Fernando Valley Business Journal)

"Business and civic leaders are of two minds when it comes to Measure B, the so-called solar initiative that will appear on the March 3 {Los Angeles] ballot…On the one hand, nobody wants to be seen as being anti-solar, but some have expressed concerns about some of the specific provisions of the proposal, the haste of its development and a lack of transparency and information.

"If approved by the voters, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will install, maintain and own solar installations within the city and at city-owned airports to produce at least 400 megawatts by 2014."

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"The Valley Industry and Commerce Association formally came out against the initiative…both the Los Angeles Daily News and the Los Angeles Times have reported on stark differences between [the independent detailed cost analysis by Huron Consulting Group] and previous information provided by the DWP…the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee has had additional meetings to review it.

"The LADWP has already moved forward with a variety of initiatives to help them meet state-imposed mandates to increase the use of renewable energy sources…it has already been valuable by creating debate and stimulating conversation about a problem that has been neglected for far too long in the region…"

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"Vijay Kapur…president of International Solar Electric Technology in Chatsworth said that on the whole he thinks the measure will be a positive…But job creation is a question for some, with a much-debated element of the measure being a proviso that only IBEW union members who are LADWP employees will be authorized to perform installation of the panels on city buildings.

"The president of the Valley Economic Alliance, Bruce Ackerman, said that while the organization had not taken an official position, he was concerned about that restriction.

"Lee Alpert [chairman of the LADWP board of commissioners] dismisses that argument, saying that jobs are jobs, whether they are held by union members or not…He added that there is a provision in the measure to give preference to purchasing the various components that make up the solar installations from local firms..[and] there was a lot of other work that would likely come out of the program, including things like retrofitting some buildings to accommodate the panels."