Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) celebrated connecting 10,000 solar customers each in three of California’s largest cities – Bakersfield, Fresno and San Jose, on Tuesday, July 21st. These celebrations to place as part of PG&E’s milestone of connecting their 175,000th solar customer to its electric grid. These achievements, combined with a new survey showing that 25 percent of Californians are considering solar panels for their home, display just how quickly California residents are paving the way for a clean energy future.
“PG&E proudly supports customer choice when it comes to renewable energy. We connect thousands of new customer-owned solar installations to our grid every month with some of the fastest connection speeds in the nation. This rooftop solar power supplies clean energy to our customers and communities, and is a key part of California’s energy future,” said PG&E’s Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, Laurie Giammona.
Each of the three cities passing the 10,000 solar customer milestone has their own “solar story”:
- San Jose is committed to receiving 100 percent of its electrical power from clean, renewable sources by 2022.
- In the Bakersfield area, the Kern High School District plans to install solar-power systems at 27 school sites by the end of 2016.
- In Fresno, students work with GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit renewable energy company and longtime PG&E partner, on a program called Alternative Spring Breakers, installing solar panels on the homes of low-income families, as a part of a state energy grant program.