Sometimes success can be a program’s worst enemy. In Los Angeles, the goal was increasing the city’s capacity to generate renewable energy. The plan was to offer up to $30 million per year in solar energy subsidies.

Unfortunately, this year has seen more than $70 million in subsidies applied for.

Now Los Angeles faces the challenge of either reducing the size of the grants – and potentially limiting their attractiveness and effectiveness – or finding new revenue sources to continue the funding at current levels.

Complicating the situation further, though, is that the DWP has already decided to reduce the size of the grants, and the City Council voted 11-1 to give itself the authority to veto decisions by city boards.

I see the start of an interesting local government saga…

From the Los Angeles Times:

The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to review a decision by the Department of Water and Power to reduce the size of the subsidy provided to residents and business owners who install solar panels on their properties.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s appointees on the DWP commission voted earlier this month to scale back the size of the solar rebate offered by the utility on the grounds that money allocated for the program was being spent faster than officials anticipated.

Read the full article here.