Aug 26 2013
SolarCity®, a leading provider of clean energy, has opened its first operations center in the San Fernando Valley to accommodate customers as far north as Santa Barbara County.
The 16,800 square-foot facility is staffed by 61 full-time employees today, and SolarCity currently has 15 job openings at this location. SolarCity already has approximately 2,000 customers in the San Fernando Valley. The company has also begun or completed projects to provide solar power to some 60 school facilities within the Los Angeles, Glendale and Simi Valley Unified School Districts, and will be providing solar electricity to the headquarters of the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Municipal Water District within the next year.
SolarCity’s new Chatsworth location was inaugurated today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by staff of Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), who presented SolarCity with her annual Sustainability Award recognizing a business, person or organization dedicated to preserving the environment by living and working responsibly, and Los Angeles Councilmember Mitchell Englander.
“We are happy to see private enterprise bring jobs as well as clean air to Chatsworth and the entire San Fernando Valley region,” said Sherman. “We continue to do all we can in Washington to help companies like SolarCity thrive so that our community benefits economically and environmentally.”
“With the growth of companies like SolarCity, California serves as a global example that job growth and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can go hand in hand,” said Pavley, author of the state’s landmark climate change law, A.B. 32. “We must accelerate sustainable solutions such as solar that put people to work in places like the San Fernando Valley and help reduce utility bills for residents, schools and businesses.”
"One way Los Angeles continues to lead the renewable energy movement is by making it easier for companies like SolarCity to do business here," said Englander. "The growth of solar in our community acts as a job creator and economic stimulus."
SolarCity has grown to become the #1 full-service solar power provider in California and the U.S. by making it possible for customers to install solar panels for free and pay less for solar electricity than they pay for utility bills. More homeowners, schools, and businesses today are making the switch to solar to reduce their electricity costs and use clean, renewable power.
“Chatsworth alone enjoys 279 days of sunshine annually, which is about 35 percent higher than the national average and makes the San Fernando Valley ideal for solar power and the savings it brings,” said Jim Cahill, SolarCity’s regional vice president of operations for Southern California. “We’re delighted to have a home in the Valley and look forward to creating more local jobs as we expand our services for homeowners and businesses in the region.”
SolarCity was chosen earlier this year as winner of the Sustainable Business Award by the Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles for its outstanding contribution to the region’s green economy.