This sounds great. Creating better financing mechanisms is a good way to get around the market failure of individuals being unwilling to invest in efficiency improvements. They may not have the capital now, but could be willing to enter into an agreement that makes the improvements, in exchange for a flow of payments across the lifetime of the new system.

a sibilant intake of breath

Sure, it's a caveat that the program is only available in San Francisco. But, if the program is successful it could do wonders as both a model and an example to convince larger regions to implement similar projects. New innovations in Concentrator PV power (CPV) are making small-scale systems increasingly affordable and efficient. It's about time we saw something like this get off the ground.

Firstly, thanks for this!  Local, point of use PV and wind (including oversized systems in prime resource areas) with feed-in tariffs and tax incentives are THE answer to the first 50% of this nation's RPS.  Hopefully, tech and pricing will improve (and more importantly, policy) so they will meet the second 50% as well.

This raises an important point, though.  I am constantly baffled by the boasting LADWP's David Nahai and Mayor Villaraigosa do about how "green" they are and how "aggressively" they are pursuing rooftop solar when hundreds, if not thousands of cities with much fewer "solar resource" are doing exponentially more.  Berkeley, SF, much of spain, all of Germany.  Chula Vista for chrissakes!  

For example, on a per-capita basis, LADWP has installed far fewer than 5% of the rooftop PV systems Germany has, despite the incredible solar capacity and enthusiasm of LA.  incentives like SF's (don't forget their fantastic capital financing system, repayable through the property tax system), and the FEED IN TARIFF mandated by Germany make the difference, and help to level the playing field for small producers like you and me, against the monsters of Big Energy who get to destroy OUR land, steal OUR homes and build out THEIR monopolies on OUR dime (yep, including Big Solar and Big Wind!).  This corporate welfare is unconscionable for both conservatives and liberals, and it must be diverted back to US!

LADWP's answer to the hue and cry for renewable power has been to push for wilderness-killing power plants 100 miles away, coupled with a massive powerline that will essentially destroy the Joshua Tree area and the world-famous landscapes, rock formations and viewsheds there.  Huh?  Did you learn nothing from Chinatown?  LA cannot "outsource" huge amounts of environmental devastation under the "GreenLA" banner, can it?

Everybody needs to start pushing MUCH harder for municipal and state governments to step up the ACTION to match the rhetoric.  There is a public workshop on Feed-in Tariffs at the CEC on Monday, June 30:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/portfolio/documents/index.html#0 ...

I hope all of you will weigh in heavily in support of a statewide program of FAIR MARKET (or above market) VALUE long-term tariffs for small producers like homes and businesses to be implemented IMMEDIATELY, and will copy Villaraigosa, Schwarzenegger and your state reps.  Your money's gonna be spent one way or the other, why not have it spent to improve your life and your income, rather than some fat guy with a cigar's?

the greenest energy is that which you needn't ever produce.