California Center for Sustainable Energy

On August 28th 2008, CCSE was represented by Irene Stillings and Andrew McAllister at a press event held at Nobel Athletic Fields and Recreation Center. Mayor Jerry Sanders spoke as did Tom Kimbis from the US Department of Energy. This event was held to formally award San Diego with the title of “Solar America City” along with a substantial federal grant as part of the US Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative. CCSE teamed with the City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department to win this $400,000 federal grant ($200,000 of cash and $200,000 of technical assistance from the Department of Energy) and will work together to allocate the funds for several solar projects in the city and region.

One of the projects being developed is a web-based solar map of the region. This map will pinpoint select existing installations, while providing users with a rough estimate of the amount of rooftop solar available for their homes and/or businesses. In addition, a solar customer survey has been circulated to current users in order to understand this demographic and gain important feedback on their experience with solar. Other projects include case studies about innovative solar systems in the city and an analysis of how residential solar panels affect the real-estate value of homes. It is envisioned that this grant will help CCSE and the City set the stage for wider adoption of solar region-wide.