Oct. 14--Solar power got a boost over the weekend when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed bills that require investor-owned utilities like Southern California Edison to buy surplus solar electricity generated by homes, small businesses and by warehouses whose sun-baked roofs could be transformed into solar power plants.

One of the bills aims to give homeowners a greater incentive to invest in solar systems and to conserve energy when using them. The other enlists warehouses -- a resource that is particularly prevalent in Riverside and San Bernardino counties -- in the state's efforts to shift reliance from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Currently homeowners with solar panels receive credits from their utility each month when their systems produce more electricity than they need and the excess is fed into the utility's grid. The credits then lower their utility bills on months when they consume more power than they can capture from the sun.

At the end of a billing year, utility customers with a solar system lose any credits that are unused.

Industry experts say the prospect of giving away excess electricity to utilities has stopped some homeowners from going solar and has perversely discouraged homeowners who have solar installations from conserving.

Under the new law, homeowners would be paid for the excess energy transmitted from their rooftop solar panels or small wind-power generators into a utility's power distribution system. Reimbursement rates would be established by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Scott Carlson, Murrieta-based vice president of Real Goods Solar, a solar installation firm, said he expects the new legislation will help his business.

"Right now, people limit the size of the solar system they put in because they are afraid they will make too much power ... They wouldn't mind spending a little more money to make the system larger so they can make money down the road," he said.

An average rooftop solar system designed to satisfy about 70 percent of the power needs of a family of four in Southern California Edison territory using about 1,000 kilowatts of electricity a month would cost $27,650. That is after a $9,500 Edison rebate and 30 percent tax credit, estimated Joe Arredondo, sales manager for Mohr Power Solar Inc. in Corona.

At today's rates, Arredondo said, the savings from lower electricity bills would pay for the system in 10 to 12 years. Figuring that electricity rates will increase 7 percent annually on average, the payback could take seven to eight years, he added.