Los Angeles mayor pitches solar power plan
Villaraigosa, speaking at a solar panel manufacturing plant, said his plan would produce 1,280 megawatts of power — most from private generating plants in the Mojave Desert, but also from public facilities and smaller programs to encourage residents to install solar panels on their homes.
He touted the installation of 1,700 panels on the roof of the Staples Center this year as a step toward reducing consumption of fossil fuels.
"LA has everything it takes to make this work," Villaraigosa said. "We have the sun in abundancy. We have the space. We have the largest municipal utility in the country."
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager David Nahai said his agency will conduct a financial analysis of the plan and its effect on ratepayers over the next 90 days.
The mayor is also trying to use redevelopment funds to entice clean technology companies into the city and investing city pension money in environmentally responsible companies in a bid to make Los Angeles a player in the solar energy industry.
A DWP watchdog questioned the financial effects of the mayor's proposal.
"There is one huge assumption here — that they'll get these huge tax credits, volume discounts and economies of scale," said Jack Humphreville, a neighborhood council member who has been pressing the DWP to appoint a ratepayer advocate. "I have serious questions about whether that is pie-in-the-sky or not."
Related News

Questions abound about New Brunswick's embrace of small nuclear reactors
SAINT JOHN - When Mike Holland talks about small modular nuclear reactors, he sees dollar signs.
When the Green Party hears about them, they see danger signs.
The loquacious Progressive Conservative minister of energy development recently quoted NB Power's eye-popping estimates of the potential economic impact of the reactors: thousands of jobs and a $1 billion boost to the provincial economy.
"New Brunswick is positioned to not only participate in this opportunity, but to be a world leader in the SMR field," Holland said in the legislature last month.
'Huge risk' nuclear deal could let Ontario push N.B. aside, says consultant
'Many issues' with…