Established in 2013, by April 2018 the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s (LADWP) CLEAN LA Solar program was generating 47 MW of solar projects, with another 56 MW in development. In addition to significantly reducing carbon emissions, CLEAN LA Solar has also translated demand for clean energy into local economic growth. The program is expected to create 4,500 jobs and generate $500 million in economic activity, according to the Los Angeles Business Council. As Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti explained, “Until L.A.’s FIT was launched, 75 percent of our city’s rooftop market was ineligible for solar because of insufficient load or because so many buildings are non-owner-occupied or multi-tenant.”
High demand has prompted widespread calls to expand CLEAN LA Solar by a factor of four, which matches the plan Mayor Garcetti laid out while building support on the campaign trail. The Mayor promised to increase the production of local solar energy to 1,200 MW by 2016 — with at least 600 MW from the CLEAN LA Solar program. According to independent studies by UCLA and the Clean Coalition, expanding CLEAN LA Solar to this size would bring the city over 18,000 new job opportunities and up to $2 billion in private investment.