WASHINGTON, DC – Under the California Climate Leadership initiative, State Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, Senators Ben Hueso, Mark Leno, Fran Pavley and Bob Wieckowski, with the support of leaders from the business, labor, public health, consumer advocacy, and environmental communities, have announced a package of bills that would help meet Governor Brown’s climate change objectives by setting clean energy goals, divesting in fossil fuels and spurring growth in the clean energy economy. Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), released the following statement applauding the initiative: 

“California continues to be #1 in the nation in both solar jobs and installed solar capacity for good reason – smart, effective public policies and tenacious leadership. We applaud Governor Brown, Senator de León and other legislative leaders for their commitment to a healthier environment and a clean energy future. Today, California has an estimated 9,800 MW of installed solar capacity, which last year helped to offset 11.3 million metric tons of harmful carbon emissions. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 2 million cars from California’s roads and highways and reason for all of us to cheer loudly.”

Today, the U.S. has an estimated 20 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity nationwide, enough to effectively power nearly 4 million homes in the United States – or every single home in a state the size of Massachusetts or New Jersey – with another 20 GW in the pipeline for 2015 and 2016, according to SEIA and GTM Research projections.