
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed new laws to increase the state's generation of green energy.
"These bills will help create jobs, lower electric bills and clean up the air we breathe," Brown said during the bill signing ceremony at Marshall Elementary School in Fowler.
Brown was in Fowler to draw attention to Senate Bill 585, which will save the area's school district an estimated $14 million in energy costs over 25 years, according to the governor's office. Thanks to this law, school districts will be able to draw on $200 million from the California Solar Initiative to fund solar panel installations. A planned solar installation at Marshall Elementary is projected to save the school $439,000 in the first year of operation.
The CSI program has a goal of installing 1,940 megawatts of solar energy capacity in California by 2016, to help the state reach its goal of generating 20,000 megawatts from green energy sources by 2020.
Under another law Brown signed in Fowler, the state's Department of Fish and Game will begin to expedite the permitting process for renewable energy developments.
California leads the United States in total installed solar capacity, though New Jersey surpassed it for non-residential capacity during the second quarter of 2011, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

