SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- A San Francisco Board of Supervisors subcommittee narrowly gave the go ahead on a renewable energy project that proposes to put 25,000 solar panels on the rooftop of the Sunset Reservoir.

The three-member San Francisco Budget and Finance Subcommittee voted 2-1 Wednesday to send, without a recommendation, what would be California's largest solar photovoltaic power project to the Board of Supervisors for a full discussion and vote.

The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project plan intends to lease the reservoir rooftop at 24th Avenue and Ortega Street in the city's Sunset district to locally based Recurrent Energy for 25 years, and also promises to purchase back some of the energy produced through a Power Purchase Agreement through the city's Public Utilities Commission.

Supervisor Campos took issue with terms of the purchase agreement, especially that which precluded the contract's manipulation by a future board, and offered the lone dissenting vote.

The project's proponents argued that the proposal would supply more than 70 green jobs to the city, 21 of which would be filled by applicants from the city's most disadvantaged ZIP codes. Labor advocates and environmental advocates were among the two dozen or so speakers who urged the subcommittee to approve the project and push it through the Board of Supervisors for a full discussion.
     
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