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Invest in solar power - SF Ballot Measures Monday, October 22, 2001 URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/10/22/ED6211.DTL THOUGH A SWEEPING bid for public power in San Francisco (Proposition F, Measure I) is too risky, bond money for solar and renewable energy makes sense. City voters have a chance to approve two measures to produceelectricity from solar panels and wind farms. In a city famed for fog, it sounds odd to talk up solar power. But San Francisco enjoys enough clear days to turn sunshine into electricity. It also owns property on the ever-gusty Altamont Pass in Alameda County where spinning wind turbines already crank out electricity. Both bond measures are worth supporting. Proposition B, sponsored by Supervisor Mark Leno, asks voter approval for revenue bonds totaling $100 million to put up the glass panels and wind machines for city government's energy needs. The second, Proposition H, by Supervisor Tom Ammiano, goes about it somewhat differently. It asks voters to exempt future solar bonds from the need for a public vote. Down the road, Ammiano wants bond money available for residential users as well as City Hall. Voters worried about a city boondoggle should take heart. The
bonds must be sold on the open market, and investors won't buy them
if they think the city can't make the finances work. If the solar
power is more expensive than conventional juice, the city will have
to think twice. The two measures would be a useful pump priming
for the nascent alternative energy industry. Photovoltaic panels
that convert sunshine to electricity could come down in price if
a major market, such as San Francisco, materializes. The measures
are a smart way to spread the city's energy bets in the wake of
this spring's costly power shortage. Up to a quarter of city government's
power needs could be met with panels atop parking garages, schools
or libraries. Instead of relying on a few big producers, the city
can tap its own 
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