by Jbs100908 i3 — October 12, 2008—Mayor Newsom challenged San Francisco businesses on October 1 to go solar by this time next year, and join him as members of the Mayor’s Solar Founders’ Circle. Members of the Solar Founders’ Circle will receive free solar assessments and energy efficiency audits from the San Francisco Department of the Environment.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the Mayor’s Office will invite San Francisco’s largest 1,500 businesses to join the Solar Founders’ Circle. Those 1,500 businesses have the potential to install 170 megawatts of solar on their roofs–more than thirty times the amount of solar currently installed in San Francisco, and enough to power 42,000 local households, notes the city.
Independent experts will visit businesses to assess their building and roof, as well as their energy bills, to help identify how to save energy and money. Solar audits will help businesses confirm their solar potential and estimate how much a solar installation will cost, what incentives are available, and how installing solar would affect their electricity and water-heating bills, and financials. Energy efficiency audits will help businesses identify ways to reduce their energy costs and access energy efficiency rebates.
The program is funded in part by a $200,000 grant from the US Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities initiative, as well as SF Environment’s existing SF Energy Watch Program. Interested businesses may call the SF Environment Department at 415-355-3715 to schedule their free audits. For more information visit the SF Environment Department’s Solar Map site.
