San Diego Jobs Created by Funding for Solar Projects
A new round of funding will help create San Diego jobs (Click here) and make the city and the surrounding area more green.
Officials recently announced that schools, cities and universities throughout San Diego County will receive $154.6 million for solar installations from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will increase the area's solar capacity by 40 percent.
"It means more green jobs and more renewable power for the people of San Diego," Lisa Bicker, chief executive of CleanTECH San Diego, a nonprofit group that coordinated some of the applications, told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The funding slated for institutions in San Diego County represents about 20 percent of the $800 million handed out throughout the country. The money will come in the form of bonds, and although the federal government will pay most of the interest through tax credits to buyers, agencies will still be responsible for paying back the money they borrow.
The region worked together to quickly submit applications that met federal guidelines. Agencies throughout San Diego County split up their requests into about 300 applications, knowing the Internal Revenue Service would allocate funds from the smallest application to the largest.
For the application process: students at the University of California San Diego developed software to use aerial images from Google to estimate the solar capacity of rooftops; a local firm designed a financial model to determine what applications would result in cost savings; and local engineers completed an independent analysis to make sure the applications met federal specifications.
The following agencies are on tap to receive bond funding:
- San Diego Unified School District - $74.3 million for 111 projects
- City of Chula Vista - $29.7 million for 34 projects
- Santee School District - $20. 6 million for 15 projects
- University of California San Diego - $15 million for 15 projects
- San Dieguito Union High School District - $8.3 million for 6 projects
- City of Santee - 3.1 million for 7 projects
- San Diego State University - $2.4 million for 1 project
- City of Lemon Grove - $1 million for 2 projects
- Fallbrook Public Utility District - $292,091 for 1 project