A really exciting new bill was introduced to Congress last week by Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The bill lays out a plan to install 10 million solar roofs and 200,000 solar water heaters over the next 10 years through tax rebates and incentives. The installations would equal 30 GW of clean energy or the equivalent of 30 nuclear power plants.
The “10 Million Solar Roofs and 10 Million Gallons of Solar Hot Water Act” would build on the success of state incentive programs like those in California and New Jersey and also the rising popularity of distributed solar projects. The bill would provide tax rebates of up to half the cost of new systems and would make sure the receivers of the incentives also know how to make their buildings as efficient as possible.
Sanders sees the bill costing between $2 and $3 billion a year, but with the outcome of 30 GW of new energy at the end of 10 years, it’s actually a very cost effective plan. The plan would also create jobs and, as Sanders says, “the more photovoltaics we use, the more will be built; the more that are built, the cheaper it becomes.”
All I can say is I love this bill. Oh Congress, please say you love it too.
via Treehugger