With aid from the state, Californians warm to rooftop solar power

[jpak]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solarbucks27-2008dec27,0,2027046.story

At a time when many investors are sticking money in their mattresses, Californians are putting it on their roofs.

Applications for state rebates to install solar panels hit their highest level ever in December, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy economy.

Residents filed a record 1,215 applications seeking solar subsidies this month, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. That's the best showing in the program's 24-month history, and December isn't even finished. More than 18,000 California homeowners and businesses have applied for rebates over the last two years. Although not everyone who files this paperwork actually ends up installing solar, the figures are viewed as a reliable barometer of future demand.

A record 133 megawatts of solar photovoltaics have been installed in California so far this year, even as the state's economy has stumbled.

<moe>