Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate’s green job subcommittee, introduced legislation to encourage the installation of 10 million solar systems on the rooftops of homes and businesses over the next decade.  The 10 Million Solar Roofs and 10 Million Gallons of Solar Water Heating Act of 2010 was created with nine other cosponsors.

According to Senator Bernie Sander’s office press release, “Sander’s bill would authorize rebates which , along with other incentives, would cover up to half the cost of the 10 million solar power systems and 200,000 water heating systems.”

Sanders said a recent report show that solar power could help make every state more energy independent  if solar units were installed on available roof top space, because every state can meet 10% or more of its electrical needs just through rooftop solar.  Because solar energy creates more jobs per megawatt that other energy sources, Sander’s bill could create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next ten years in the solar industry.