Los Angeles has yet again emerged as a national leader in sustainability with a recent move to expand the solar rooftop Feed-in Tariff (FiT) program. On December 4, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the authorization of 300 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity for the FiT program— tripling the size of what was already the nation’s largest program.
The Los Angeles Business Council has been a champion for the FiT program since its inception in 2013—advocating for its implementation and working to ensure its effectiveness.
A recent in-depth analysis of the FiT found the pilot generated over $500 million in new investments and will reduce 68,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually when all projects are interconnected. The program has also been immensely successful in uplifting underserved communities by focusing 40 percent of all in-service installations in disadvantaged communities with high solar potential and by creating thousands of high-quality local jobs.
“We applaud the City Council for their leadership in bringing this crucial public-private, clean energy program to scale to meet the demands of the climate crisis,” said LABC President Mary Leslie. “The FiT program is a huge asset to our city and its success will continue to be felt across many sectors.”
Through a long-term partnership with LADWP leadership and staff, the LABC has held dozens of educational workshops to connect building owners with solar developers, interconnection events celebrating projects connecting to the grid, and ongoing briefings with stakeholders and active participants.
