More than 10 years ago, California state leaders envisioned and signed into law an initiative that sought to localize solar energy by building 1 million solar energy systems in schools, homes, farms and businesses across the state.
Former California governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, along with other elected officials and state leaders, celebrated reaching that goal at Buchanan High School Dec. 12.
The state leaders were joined by high school students, renewable energy advocates, and solar business leaders and workers. Clovis Unified School District Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell said at the event that CUSD built 46 solar roofs across the district, including at all of its high schools. The new solar roofs provide the district with more than 50 percent of its energy needs.
The Million Solar Roof Initiative, also known as SB 1-Murray, was signed into law by Schwarzenegger in 2006. California reached the initiative’s goal in 2019.
Former California State Senator Kevin Murray, who wrote the initiative, praised Clovis Unified for its dedication to creating solar energy and encouraged students to seek a future in public service.
“This is a beautiful campus, you didn’t just add solar panels, it is designed around preventing climate change,” Murray said. “I want to encourage all the students here to consider public service, whether it is in an elected office or public advocacy, as a profession. Because you can sit in a room and come up with an idea and some years later end up with a million solar panels.”
Brown said the initiative is an important step to slowing the effects of climate change, which he explained could have drastic consequences for the future. He listed rising sea levels, massive refugee crises and increased difficulty maintaining agricultural sustainability as possible outcomes if the problem is not solved soon.
“If we don’t make a change, these things are going to happen in your lifetime,” Brown said, addressing the students in attendance. “We are at a turning point where we can either handle it, or we don’t…. you can be the difference that changes the future.”
Brown said Clovis and Fresno are ahead of the coastal cities when it comes to solar roofs. Clovis is ranked sixth in the state for its number of solar roofs, just behind Fresno, which is ranked fourth.
Schwarzenegger said he was happy to celebrate reaching the milestone in Clovis.
“I’m very happy to be in Clovis to celebrate California’s successful one million solar roof initiative, it is really great to celebrate this in the Central Valley. When I was governor I always called the Central Valley the abs of California, because the abs are the center of the body and they are very, very important,” Schwarzenegger said.
He said reaching the goal was the latest example of California leading the way in climate change and thinking big.
“California is special because we have consistency. Look at the environmental progress we have made. It started off with then governor Ronald Reagan, who created the Air Resources Board, then governor Jerry Brown came in and he was the first one to tell us that we had to go in the direction of solar and wind, geothermal, back in the 70s… He had a clear vision that began building this future,” Schwarzenegger said. “So we have consistency and what that does is it gives everyone confidence.
“It gives investors’ confidence, and that’s why we have venture capital. More than 50 percent of venture capital from the United States comes through California, that’s what creates jobs.”
Schwarzenegger added that politics do not matter when it comes to climate change because it is an issue that affects everyone.
“It’s all a bunch of nonsense when they start mentioning party names. The reason why I’m saying this is because we don’t have democratic air that we are breathing. We don’t have republican air. We all breathe the same air… so why the hell are we talking about democrats and republicans,” he said.
Parker Wyatt, a 16-year-old sophomore at Buchanan, said it was good to see that politicians are addressing climate change, which he called an emerging issue.
“It was cool to see that this project had its payoff,” Wyatt said. “It’s cool that our school was one of the first to do it, it feels like we are part of that change.”