Solar Powered Habitat for Humanity

California's big utility, PG&E, is paying to install solar panels on every new home built by Habitat for Humanity this year, according to a San Francisco Chronicle story. What a bright idea. PG&E doesn't have the most stellar environmental record (perhaps you've seen Erin Brockovich), but every company has the opportunity in the new green movement to re-invigorate its environmental performance, and the big Golden State utility has instituted some innovative green energy strategies in recent years.

This is one of them. Solar power is cost effective -- but only if you can afford the up-front costs. The benefits trickle in slowly, month by month, in the form of lower electricity bills. As the recent turmoil in the sub-prime lending market shows all too clearly, it is those struggling to keep their homes that need lower bills more than anyone. This kind of creative policy should be extended -- across the country, and into other segments of the housing industry.

It is homeowners -- and not builders -- who see the long term benefits of energy efficiency. Finding innovative policies that create incentives for builders to invest in improvements that pay off only over many years is a big challenge -- one that PG&E has made one small, but significant, step toward tackling.

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