everybody always says sunset, solar, city, son? what you have before you is one of the largest reservoir is in san francisco. it serves over half the people of san francisco for its water, and we have the equivalent of 24,000 photovoltaic panels out here, and that is enough solar to give us 5 megawatts of solar, which triples the solar output in san francisco. lincoln high school up there is one of the largest in san francisco. this reservoir will produce enough power to light up lincoln high school for six and a half years. it provides enough solar and enough energy for 1100 homes in san francisco. it is a start, but it is part of the city cozy green plan. it adds to the city's hydropower, and it is not just for city hall or the hospitals, but in a few more months, it will also be powering the homes that will be built in hunters point. the shipyard development program will be the first 100% greenhouse free electricity at a retail level because we will be bringing that power to them. so it is a good day for all of us to be celebrat

hi, i'm here with carl, he is the operations manager for solar city. we decided to take a little break from the cls room to so we could see some of the solar panels in action. carl, how are you? >> very well. nice to meet you. >> how do you like the weather? >> not too bad. >> kind of sunny. how does that impact our solar panels when we have lots of sun versus fog which we are typically accustomed to in san francisco? >> well, contrary to popular belief, solar panels will produce electricity when it's foggy out. how much depends on the density of the fog. on a day like today it's hazy for typical san francisco weather. on a day like talking, you can expect 80% of your what would be your full production on a clear sunny day. >> so if i were thinking about getting solar panels and i lived in san francisco and i was worried about haze versus full sun and how that will impact what jets yated, are there any tools or tricks that i can use to determine what the production is going to be like? >> the first thing you need to do is look at what available area do

city. >> we need to find other ways to create energy without harm to the environment and this is one source. >> we have over 2 megawatts of solarous city buildings. we are looking at tidal power and we're beginning to look at geothermal power. >> we're on the roof of the moscone center of san francisco and we have 2500 panels that power the center. >> here we are using real energy, energy from the sun, free energy from the sun coming in right here. this converts directly into electricity. >> all these technologies cost money. they don't make economic sense. solar never made economic sense. bio fuels never made economic sense. it's when it was adopted that it started making sense. >> some of them have challenges, that take a long time to prove out, but there's no reason that the challenge of where we will get tomorrow's energy in the united states should not produce a very, very large. >> san francisco is unique in the united states because we serve our own power needs. >> the city of san francisco is well positioned in that we are perfectly located to take advantage of any renewable category. >> we tend to be the last one to fi

city with a new and clean form of power. >>reporter: sunshine is the sign for energy. they put finishing touches on a field of 24,000 solar panels today. panels that will soak up the sun and convert it to power for the city of san francisco. >> what you see here today is te biggest of any of the other municipal projects in the state, one of the largest in the united states. >> they asked engineers to brinm online by cell phones. >> 3, 2, 1. >> flip that switch! >> the solar panels would generate about 4% of the city's 17 mega watt usage but help school buildings the airport and rail lines. >> in a few more months it will repower the homes. >> what makes this unique, the system was built in a public private partnership. recurrent will own and operate the system selling the power back to the utilities commission under 25-year contract. >> unlike any type of generatins sleen, it's quiet and can be sited right in here in the middle of an urban neighborhood. >> they allowed them to qualitya -- qualify for 30% tax credit. outgoing mayor newsom hopes the panels will help them have their energy be renewable by the year 2020. repo

solar panels. it's in an unexpected part of the city covering the top of sunset reservoir in a space the size of 12 football fields. ktvu's jana katsuyama reports. >> reporter: sunshine is an auspicious sight when it comes to solar electricity. panels that will soak up the sun and convert it to power for the city of san francisco. >> what you see right here today is the biggest of any of the other municipality owned projects in the state. one of the largest in the united states of america. >>> at a ceremony today, major gavin newsom asked engineers by cell phone to bring the system online. >> flip that switch. >> reporter: the solar panels would generate five megawats. but it will help power the school buildings. >> it will be built in hunters hunter's point. >> reporter: recurrent will own and operate the system selling the power back to the san francisco public utility commission under a 25 year contract. >> unlike any other generating technology, it's clean, quiet and it can be sited right here in the middle of an urban neighborhood. >> reporter: the project was able to qualify for a grant. outg

solar panels. it's in an unexpected part of the city covering the top of sunset reservoir in a space the size of 12 football fields. ktvu's jana katsuyama reports. >> reporter: sunshine is an auspicious sight when it comes to solar electricity. panels that will soak up the sun and convert it to power for the city of san francisco. >> what you see right here today is the biggest of any of the other municipality owned projects in the state. one of the largest in the united states of america. >>> at a ceremony today, major gavin newsom asked engineers by cell phone to bring the system online. >> flip that switch. >> reporter: the solar panels would generate five megawats. but it will help power the school buildings. >> it will be built in hunters hunter's point. >> reporter: recurrent will own and operate the system selling the power back to the san francisco public utility commission under a 25 year contract. >> unlike any other generating technology, it's clean, quiet and it can be sited right here in the middle of an urban neighborhood. >> reporter: the project was able to qualify for a grant. outg

municipal solar project in california. >> basically this is 5 megawatts of clean solar generated capacity sitting on a city owned piece of property generating electricity and feeding it right in. >> reporter: the solar field is so big in fact when mayor gavin newsom celebrated the opening today, he had to phone technicians across the way to flip the switch. >> two, one, flip that switch. >> this was unused space right in an urban area. power comes out and can get used right next door and produce power for 1,100 homes. >> reporter: in an unusual agreement, the company owns a project taking advantage of 30% tax rebate. the city will buy power at a reduced rate. the electricity will power city hall, hospitals, and eventually a knnew housing development. >> we'll provide power to hunters point. that will be the first green retail power in san francisco. 100% green. >> reporter: the project comes as california tries to reach a goal of using 20% renewable power by the end of the year. mayor gavin newsom says the solar array is evidence of the possibilities. >> the point being that you can create jobs and reduce

and electricity locally and in the from coal which is what most people are claiming but a solar ring around the city for a cars this drive in the city. >> charlie: did you say in answer to the question china and india and china for the next 25 years and then india. >> i think demographics are are the strongest force. what happened to china is they've reduced because of the limitations on the number of kids you can have, you'll have 20 years from now two kids that are supporting four parents, a number of grandparents and at that point they'll open up the number of kids you can have so you'll go back to having two kids. >> charlie: i think they're starting. >> you can't have two workers supporting two people. india's the flip case. they've now got 50% of the population under 25 and these kids are going to go into the labor force, india's bound do do the same thing, the reduction on the size of the family and they'll have 50% of their work force in their 30s and 40s with not a lot of kids or parents to support and india's getting into the same chinese wave. india's not turned the infrastructure investm

. >> san francisco civic center will get the cities for state- of-the-art solar power and hybrid led streetlights. it will be part of a pilot project that will reduce energy consumption is by 1400 kilowatts hours per year. >>> too bad we cannot get those lights to run on rain. we will be getting a lot of that's doing. >> the showers are relatively light right now. they are moving onshore. this will make for a wet morning commute be this is the beginning of the wet weather pattern we have been talking about for over a week now. there's not much in the way of dynamics right here. you get a lot of moisture pushed up against the coastal hill and some precipitation. there is a lot of which are coming through. the real energy looks like it is out here tomorrow afternoon. saturday night into sunday morning looks pretty wet as well. the overnight lows tonight we are looking at 38 in santa rosa and 40 in napa. the reason why they are so cool is because it was not that one today. they will get cool fast and then the rain will come and the overnight lows will be achieved about 1:00 this morning

today, the city has committed up to 5.5 megawatts of solar generation at the residential allahu level. -- residential level. in 2009, the board urged and into a dozen bay, -- in 2008, that they become fossil free by 2013. it ultimately identified as one of the long-term objectives to gradually displace all of the existing fossil generation. for this plan, the sfpuc inc. the guidance of the board of supervisors and the mayor in developing the ultimate goal. it retained the rocky mountain institute that was the original author of the 2002 resource plan to help determine the feasibility of achieving by 2013. -- 2030. in addition to that, working with the power plant taskforce, the sfpuc can build a green tech advisory committee. to help it identify short and medium term objectives on how to meet the goal of the electricity resources plans. what the staff did, and ultimately cut the input recommendations and the technical advisory committee and developed an unhealthy own draft of the resource plan. it mainly focuses on three-five year terms to help it reach its long-term goal and helps id

solar units. each would have the meter installed. and lastly, the city processes as well as teh puc -- the puc mentioned there would have to be a ceqa process. and they brought this up regarding conjecture in terms of overhead wiring and things like that. the next step sounds like petrasolar would have to have a pilot project. they went through some of the items they would need in this proposal. and the proposed efficiency of such a program, trying to measure the output and qualification. we're going to be waiting on petra how to see if they will submit a proposal. the you have any questions? commissioner mirkarimi: when would we know potentially? do we encourage them to go ahead and submit horovitz register their interest? >> from my meetings, it did not sound like there was any time line. i know that a representative is here today. we did not talk about a specific time line. commissioner mirkarimi: can we ask the representative? thank you. >> regulatory manager for petra solar. commissioner mirkarimi: are you interested in submitting a proposal? >> we

solar projects in san francisco? any plans to expand our portfolio all are on hold. we're supposed to put them on city hall, on the symphony. there's no end in sight. i would like to see an update. can the planned come up with how san francisco starts doing solar projects again? it has been suggested that the pyrene project could be a solution. there was a type of labor dispute that led to a situation at one of the markey solar projects. this is amazing that but there is stuff that has to get worked out and a lot of us all fully understand and are waiting to get unraveled. the city's electricity plants have suffered and the community has suffered because there was a really strong labor partnership between the city and the community groups to get to work. did you know that over 30% of the workers were from the most economically disadvantaged community and they are so excited to get up on the roof. i don't know how we get it going again but let's find a way to a least talk about it and get it into the plan. this can be a brief solution that we are all waiting for. but the -- to align >> i'm with the all

. >> then, at 6:00 tonight a bay area city flips a switch on the largest municipal solar facility in the country. lightning fast. lightning strong. rizon 4g lte. rule the air on the most advanced 4g network in the world. >>> pacifica radio broadcast al jazeera news covering news about middle eastern countries started yesterday. and english language edition airs from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. and being broadcast on stations in new york, houston, gs los angeles, washington, d.c., are next. al jazeera is based in qatar. >> today marks the 69th anniversary of the attack on pearl harbor. japanese war planed launched an unprovoked attack in hawaii, drawing american into world war ii. anniversary commemorated today the site of the sunken uss arizona. 120 survivors traveled from around the country for the event. >>> at 6:00 a south bay success story. the city making things happen around town despite the recession. and science behind massage, how it can benefit patients with health issues beyond soreness. and buying an extended warranty on electronics. 7 yn your side's michael finney examines options

. >> we have about half a dozen to a dozen cities throughout the country who are pioneers in the area of solar and clean energy technology and san jose is definitely one of them. >> reporter: you're looking at a darkened san jose city hall to save energy in the building itself. and if we zoom out, you can show just how close this is to the city hall. allen, it's just aings crot street and these displays will change over time as new technology becomes available, it will be showcased out here so that people can see it. and it's not just, you know, high-tech stuff like this. they are showing things like clay roof tiles and how much more, you know, energy you can save by using certain types of natural materials, as well. >> good to bring that stuff down to street level where we can all see it. >> reporter: absolutely. >> len ramirez in san jose, thank you. >>> well, california's budget troubles appear to be even worse than previously thought. governor-elect jerry brown and state lawmakers net sacramento this morning to take a hard look at the crisis facing the state. they say the deficit recently

it could be used for offices, retail, sports field, solar rays and restored wetlands. the city council will get a progress report, but a vote is not expected for months. >> a pot club vote will bring more green into the city. instead of approving a ban on the cannibis clubs, it's starting all over. they voted yesterday in favor of the 7% tax approved by voters last month. the burning question will be discussed at a later date. chuck reid supports the tax. >> a blue out is expected tonight. teachers and employees at the mount diablo school district plan to rally to protect jobs to keep students and schools safe. they are upset about the rising cost of health care. they say they made concessions and claim that more cuts make it impossible to provide safe and clean classrooms and a good education for the students. that meeting is set for 7:30. expect more teachers in classrooms soon. the school district received enough federal money to hire about 20 teachers for the rest of the year. the district and the teacher's union disagree on how to use the new hires. the district wants the

solar panels and that is what you'll are the kidnapped. this will continue to be replicated and shine light on the example of what can be achieved not just in the city but across the state and the nation. we created local jobs on the program and we made people accountable as far as our outreach efforts and targeting those people have been locked out of the old economy. i am proud that we have organized what is a fun and exciting event on sunday, december 12th between 10 and 6:00 p.m.. people are able to take advantage of the snow. we raised a lot of money for snow to be delivered out here at the civic center and people will be able to go down a disk. we will have all kinds of activities, there will be jumping houses for kids. we will have city hall, the mayor's office, the board of supervisors' offices open. there will be live music. there will be cocoa, cookies, you name it. there will be rain gear walking around. -- reindeer walking around. the zoo will be bringing down a bunch of animals as well. this is a way of opening up city hall. this is the first of what i hope will be an annual advent to all the people of san francisco. -- an annual event

. >> we have about half a dozen to a dozen cities throughout the country who are pioneers in the area of solar and clean energy technology and san jose is definitely one of them. >> reporter: usually solar packages like this are up on someone's roof but by bringing it down to street level, the city of san jose will be willing to see and adopt the newer technology in san jose len ramirez, cbs 5. >>> if you haven't seen it the holiday spirit is burning bright in the bay area. one family put up its annual christmas display that includes tens of thousands of lights, in fact so much attention they decided to take advantage of the foot traffic. mike sugerman in pacifica to tell us how they are going to use that attention do something good for the community. mike. >> reporter: yeah, of course we're here where it's raining so nobody is coming by but what a house. you said tens of thousands? they counted 30,000 lights. and i asked, can you see this from space? no. but it's a lot. here comes somebody right now. they are waving and bringing something. steve and tina have been decorating their house in pa

solar eclipse. san jose is near the top of a list that no city wants to be on. the water in san jose and many other cities contains small amounts of a dangerous chemical made famous in a hollywood movie ten years ago. janet has our report. >> reporter: in any city when you turn on the tap, you're bound to find more than just pure h2o, today a non-profit released a study that water samples taken from san jose and 30 other cities have a possible carcinogen. >> we picked a few cities that found detections repeatedly and san jose was one of those cities. san francisco doesn't have a problem. we knew that, so we didn't test there. >> reporter: researchers say the san jose sample was taken from a public library. among the cities tested, san jose had the 5th highest level at 1.3 parts per billion. one above the .06 per billion california has considered adopting as an acceptable minimum level. it's used in processes such as chrome plating and naturally in soil. water company supplies 80% of the city supply. >> san jose's water exceeds or meets drinking water standards.

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solar power at the waste water facility in the bayview hunter's point. he will be responsible for putting power on our libraries, on our schools, and everywhere possible in the citynty of san francisco. we're very fortunate that this mayor has been the first mayor to create a climate action plan that will reduce the green house emissions by 20 percent by the year 2012. this mayor has also been a leader and innovation and we're looking at creating -- in harnessing paddle power below the golden gate bridge and that will be done under gavin newsom's leadership. so please put your hands together and give a warm san francisco welcome to our mayor, my mayor, gavin newsom. >> thank you. newly elected so i've got to now call him mr. president. thank you, president brooks. i want to thank the commissioners for being here and of course our director, susan leyall, recognize her extraordinary leadership in putting this to the. as they say, god's delays are not god's denials. we should have been here a decade ago. i had the great privilege of just getting back a couple days ago from the world's economic forum in suite err land. it was an extraordinary experience for the first

solar panels on the top of the roof brkts size of 12 football fields. there is energy will be used to power muni. it's a public, private partnership between the city's public utilities commission and recurrent energy. >> recurrent energy owns and operates this plant. so we're deploying private capitol and then sell to the city. >> a savings of $26 million over 25 years but the mayor isn't stopping here. and wants the city to become 100% renewable within 10 years and turning to wind and wave energy to make it possible. >> there is a number of studies off ocean beach that show we can get anywhere from 3200 megawatts of power through wave energy. so that is another resource we have here. >> in san francisco, leigh glaser abc 7 news. >> santa claus has a new gig tonight. john too maniy who has been kris kringle 20 years in union square macy's was dumped after a couple complained about a joke he said he used for years. >> they came and sat on my knee. i said have you been good this year? oh, yes. sanlta. i said well that is too bad. >> today the owner of lefty odoule's offered santa a new job, which he accepted ban hour ago. >> first day could be friday