The Marketplace At Work.

In a perfect follow-up to yesterday's rant about the need for private sector investment in California's alternative energy infrastructure, Lennar, one of the largest homebuilders in the country announced today that solar energy packages will now come standard in all of the homes it builds in the Bay Area.

An article in the Contra Costa Times acknowledged that, in the past, buyers have shied away from adding solar to their new home designs (only 2% of new home buyers, historically) because it was such a costly add-on, but thanks to incentives given to builders through Gov. Schwarzenegger's Million Solar Roofs program, the solar package is now standard.

In its press release, Lennar acknowledged that the incentives included in the Million Solar Roofs program prodded the company to make this move:

In 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation (Senate Bill 1) aimed at establishing California as the nation’s leader in solar energy. By 2011, his Million Solar Roofs Plan will provide incentives to builders and homeowners who install solar power in new homes and convert to solar energy in existing homes. The bill, which provides tremendous support to Lennar’s existing solar energy initiatives, is just part of a broader effort to push green energy alternatives throughout the state.

Additionally, PG&E has said that homeowners who generate more power through their solar arrays than they consume will receive a credit on their bill that can be applied to nightime use of electricity drawn from the grid. There is a $5 monthly connection fee that all solar customers will be required to pay, however.

Developer makes solar power standard [Contra Costa Times]

Lennar Homebuilding Introduces Solar Electric Systems in All New Homes in the Bay Area [Lennar Press Release]