dhull@mercurynews.com

California has hit a major renewable energy milestone: 1 gigawatt — or 1,000 megawatts — of solar power has been installed on rooftops throughout the state, according to a report to be released Wednesday by Environment California, a statewide advocacy group.

One gigawatt is roughly the size of two coal-fired power plants and is enough energy to power 750,000 homes. Five countries have hit the 1 gigawatt installation mark to date: Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and the Czech Republic. California has installed more solar power than France, China and Belgium.

The cumulative tally for California includes solar panels installed on existing homes and commercial buildings as well as new-home construction. It includes solar connected to the electric grid by large utilities like PG&E as well as solar within municipal utilities in cities like Palo Alto and Santa Clara.

The report credits the California Solar Initiative, the state’s aggressive program to encourage homeowners, businesses, local governments and nonprofit organizations to install solar panels on their roofs, with the milestone. About 600 megawatts has been installed through the California Solar Initiative.

“California can become the Saudi Arabia of the sun if it continues to get behind big, successful solar programs,” said Michelle Kinman of Environment California and co-author of “Building a Brighter Future: California’s Progress Toward a Million Solar Roofs.”

Despite the  state’s weak economy, solar installations saw tremendous growth in 2010, thanks to falling prices and the popularity of no-money-down leases.

“Of the total 1,000 megawatts of rooftop solar installed statewide, a record 205 megawatts was installed in 2011 alone,” Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said in a statement.The report will be released Wednesday at the Oakland offices of Sungevity, a startup that serves the residential market in eight states. Sungevity has more than 3,000 customers nationwide and sold 2.2 megawatts of solar in October.

PG&E has 55,000 residential and commercial solar customers within its Northern California territory, more than any other utility in the country. And San Jose is PG&E’s leading solar city, with 25.9 megawatts installed. Large school districts like San Jose Unified and the East Side Union High School District have installed solar panels, as have leading companies like eBay (EBAY) and scores of homeowners. Bakersfield, Fresno, Santa Rosa and Livermore are also solar hot spots.

Much of the solar growth has been fueled by state incentives. The California Solar Initiative provided $3 billion in incentives for solar energy projects, with the amount of the incentives decreasing over time as the solar market matures. Rebates for residential systems are given upfront — a one-time payment based on system size. The rebate level for PG&E residential customers has fallen quickly in recent years and stands at 25 cents per watt. So if you’re putting in a 5 kw system, that results in a $1,250 rebate.

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_19292783

Los Angeles (CNN) — Despite the Solyndra collapse that has tarnished solar energy, the industry has grown into “a major economic force” with a job base that expanded 6.8% the past year, nearly 10 times faster than the overall economy, industry representatives said Tuesday.

The solar business is now a $6 billion industry, up 300% from 2006, said officials with the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit affiliated with solar energy industry.

With 100,237 jobs as of August, solar employers expect their workforce to grow 24% next year, according to the foundation’s National Solar Jobs Census 2011, completed in partnership with BW Research Partnership’s Green LMI Consulting division and Cornell University.

“It’s great news,” said Andrea Luecke, executive director of the Solar Foundation. “Despite a struggling economy and the worst recession since the Depression and despite the Solyndra debacle, the industry is experiencing record-breaking trade numbers, record-breaking installed capacity, and record-breaking private investment.”

Solyndra Inc. was once considered a model “green” company producing state-of-the-art solar panels, but it is now at the center of congressional scrutiny and a FBI probe after the Fremont, California, firm filed for bankruptcy in late August and put more than 1,000 people out of work, even though it received $535 million in federal loan guarantees.

The bankruptcy leaves the government unlikely to get back the money it loaned. President Barack Obama touted the company in a visit last year.

Despite the controversy, the solar sector appears bullish, Luecke said.

“Solyndra, of course, is just one company, and they went out of business because they could no longer compete with not only Chinese manufactures but also U.S. manufacturers,” Luecke said.

“There’s nothing to indicate that the solar industry is not poised for growth, though we do need smart policy investment as all energies do,” Luecke added.

She was referring to state and federal legislation that would give “employers the confidence they need to expand their workforce,” she said.

California continued to be the national leader in solar employment, with 25,575 workers. Other states in the top 10 are Colorado, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Texas, Oregon, New Jersey and Massachusetts, the group said.

The study identified 17,198 solar employments sites in the United States. The survey collected data from more than 2,100 companies.

“The National Solar Jobs Census is an important reference because the previous lack of data about solar employment was presenting difficulties to policymakers and training providers,” Philip Jordan, chief business officer at BW Research Partnership, said in a statement.

Added John Bunge, associate professor in the department of statistical science at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations: “The jobs census is setting a new standard for clean energy job studies.

“The use of both primary and secondary data sources, along with careful statistical analysis, gives us high confidence in the results. We expect our rigorous methodology to be extended to econometric studies of green jobs beyond the solar industry,” he said in a statement.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/19/us/solar-jobs/