In California, where residents boast that the sun shines all the time, and solar incentives and rebates are as plentiful as the gold that once filled the state’s coffers, one would expect the big cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento to have the most residential rooftop solar installations.

Apparently not, according to an independent analysis by non-profit Environment California, whose newest report ranks San Diego as number one in its California’s Solar Cities report.

It’s surprising, considering the fact that, a mere decade ago, San Diego wasn’t even among the Top 10.
Now, however, it has 2,262 solar roof installations that jointly produce 19.4 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 12,000 homes. This, from a population base barely a third the size of Los Angeles.

This remarkable solar success is driven by a number of factors, from the Kearney Mesa headquarters for the California Center for Sustainable Energy (or CCSE, which promotes solar through various means), to an abundance of sunshine, at least according to the experts.

For example, one program from CCSE, set to launch this fall, is designed to offer San Diego homeowner’s 20-year loans to install solar projects, with the balance repaid their property tax bills. Another joint project between the city and CCSE will allow residents to view and use an online mapping tool that provides detailed information about solar arrays nationwide and the solar irradiation potential neighborhood by neighborhood.

As to the second factor, all of California has an abundance of sunshine, so the real cause is likely San Diego City Hall’s approach to solar permitting, which expedites the process.

The goal, according to Kevin Murphy of environmental and engineering consulting firm CH2M Hill (which helped create the San Diego Solar Map) is to get communities engaged in the solar process and sharing information on their progress. It is also hoped that such interactive aids, along with federal, state and city tax incentives, will spur more installations in spite of a difficult economy, which has California giving out IOUs for lack of funds.

The California Legislature has a target of 1 million solar roofs by 2017. Currently, there are about 50,000. That is up about 45,500 from a decade ago, and predicted to rise rapidly as solar power reaches grid parity – another target some experts say could be reached as soon as 2015.

Elsewhere in California, the small hamlet of Nevada City, population just under 96,000, has a per capita solar installation of nearly 20 percent, with almost one in five households sporting a solar roof array. That’s a record in anyone’s book!

These figures could rise even higher if California legislators ever pass AB 920, a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) designed to force utilities to either pay homeowners for their excess solar production (at wholesale, not retail, rates), or carry credits over into subsequent years.

California’s Solar Cities in Brief:

NAME SOLAR POPULATION

San Diego 2,262 3,001,072
Los Angeles 1,388 9,862.409
San Francisco 1,350 808.976
San Jose 1,333 1,006,892
Fresno 1,028 909,152
Bakersfield 751 312,000
Clovis 733 92,500
Santa Rosa 725 161,496
Sacramento 692 1,394,154
Berkeley 648 100,744