Labor Group Seeks 400 MW of L.A. Solar

A labor group closely tied to a union that represents Los Angeles Department of Water & Power workers is seeking to place a measure on the city of Los Angeles ballot March 3 to require the muni to install 400 MW of rooftop solar in the city by 2013. LADWP would own and operate the panels if voters pass the measure. To help flesh out the idea for the ballot, LADWP expects to prepare an implementation plan, said David Nahai, the muni’s general manager. The Los Angeles City Council must approve placing the measure on the ballot. The council was expected to ask LADWP to study the economics of the plan. A group called Working Californians, which is closely tied to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, is advancing the measure as a way to create green jobs. The union local represents workers at the LADWP. However, Jack Humphreville, a Los Angeles neighborhood council activist who tracks LADWP, said the solar rooftop plan could conceivably cost billions of dollars. He urged “an objective and thorough analysis of the costs” before the measure goes on the ballot to find out how it might affect both the muni’s rates and finances. The solar measure comes on the heels of Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s announcement of a plan to create a clean technology manufacturing hub on a brown field site in the city’s downtown. “Los Angeles will be the world’s clean technology capital,” said Villaraigosa. The solar measure would include a job training and job creation program and incentives for making solar panels locally under a resolution introduced by numerous backers on the city council.

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Labor Group Seeks 400 MW of L.A. Solar

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