• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Pardee Makes Solar Power Promise

Posted on: Sunday, 2 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

By Sophia Kazmi, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Oct. 1--LIVERMORE -- Pardee Homes, in the midst of a contentious election to win approval for a North Livermore housing development, announced Friday that all 2,450 homes would be solar powered.

Pacific Gas & Electric officials and Joe Desmond, the chairman of California Energy Commission, joined Pardee as it announced its plan for what would be the largest totally solar-powered housing project in the country -- if it gets built.

"This is truly a historic announcement," said Desmond, who lives in the Tri-Valley. "I hope people realize that."

Despite the enthusiasm at the Livermore Library news conference, some opponents of the housing project were skeptical, questioning its timing so close to the November election.

"It's curious in the 11th hour they make this announcement," said Livermore Mayor Marshall Kamena, part of a slow-growth council majority.

An initiative on the Livermore Trails project is on the ballot in November. The project land is outside city limits and voters must decide whether the city can annex it.

The land north of Interstate 580 and west of Springtown is proposed for 450 acres of housing, a 130-acre sports park, a 750-acre open space preserve and dedication of high school and elementary school sites.

The land is currently outside of Livermore's urban limit line, and the development has been opposed by some environmental groups who call it unnecessary sprawl.

Joyce Mason, vice president of Pardee Homes, said Friday the decision to go 100 percent solar was just an extension of the company's existing green building policies and had been discussed in the original proposal to the city.

On each home, about 250 square feet of solar panels would replace regular roofing, said Addison Marks of GE Energy, which is working with Pardee on the project. Homeowners could save between 50 percent and 70 percent on their energy bills by using solar power, he said. If the homes create more energy than use, PG&E will credit the solar customers on their bills.

The use of solar panels is just one of the green ideas for the project, said Mason.

Other planned measures include tankless water heaters and the use of recycled building materials.

Councilwoman Lorraine Dietrich, who supports the project, said if it is built it could be a sterling example of how a community can benefit from sustainable energy.

The original proposal to the city, which proposed green living initiatives, did not say the homes would be 100 percent solar, said Bob Baltzer, chairman of Friends of Livermore, which opposed the project. By law, Pardee only has to honor what it has presented in writing to the city, he said.

"The idea of solar power is great, but we don't need it in North Livermore," said Baltzer, adding that his group estimates the new project could result in about 38,000 more car trips a day.

There have been other Bay Area developments that have offered solar power options. Some smaller developments in East Palo Alto and in Santa Clara County have used some solar power, said PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno.

In Benicia, many residents of a 258-home development built in the 1980s had solar panels but stopped using them, a local Benicia paper found in 2001. Many had stopped because the tax credits ran out and equipment repairs were costly.

Moreno said PG&E doesn't keep track of systems that no longer use solar power. There are some parts that need to replaced every seven years and replacement can be costly, but he said PG&E has brought online about half the solar power systems in the nation.

"A lot of people do report a lot of happiness with their solar panels," Moreno said.

-----

To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bayarea.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

WY, PCG,

Source: Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

More News in this Category