State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, says a solar power measure he has proposed is not only good policy, it's personal.

He told a House Energy Resources subcommittee last week that the measure would create a loan system to help homeowners like him pay for pricey rooftop solar panels.

If the proposal becomes law, Strama said, it would "overcome the two biggest barriers for my wife and me from putting solar on our roof," which are capital costs and willingness to invest in a long-term efficiency improvement.

"First, it's a $25,000 up-front investment. You got to have $25,000 laying around. And the second is, we probably — especially after redistricting in two years — won't stay in our house long enough" to recover the cost in utility savings from putting up solar panels.

The proposal, which Strama said is "absolutely my favorite bill," would give cities and counties the power to create "emissions management districts" with bonding authority that could offer loans to homeowners for energy-efficiency projects, such as solar panels, solar water heaters or small wind turbines.

Homeowners who get a loan would pay it back annually at the same time as their property taxes. The debt would be passed on to the next homeowner (who could also benefit from the energy-efficiency measure) if the house were sold.

California and Colorado have laws on the books that give local governments the authority to loan money for energy-efficiency projects.

At least 10 other states are considering similar proposals, according to Annie Carmichael, the federal policy director of the Vote Solar Initiative, a nonprofit organization promoting solar power that is based in San Francisco and New York.

Austin Energy has a program to offer loans to purchase and install solar power systems. That program has granted 24 loans since it began in 2004, with 18 of those in the past year, said Ed Clark, a spokesman for Austin Energy. The loans have ranged from $5,000 to $11,000.

At the Capitol, the Strama proposal enjoys widespread support of environmental groups and, unsurprisingly, solar power companies. No one testified in opposition to the proposal during testimony in subcommittee Thursday, which is one of dozens of measures aimed at spurring solar power in Texas.

Despite its open space and abundant sunshine, Texas lags other states in the amount of power it generates from the sun.

Dozens of proposals promoting solar power have been filed in the Texas House and Senate. Other proposals include ones that would place a statewide surcharge on electric bills to establish a fund that would subsidize homeowners who want to put solar panels on their roofs. Others would require electric utilities to get some of their energy from alternative sources other than wind. (A similar requirement, passed a decade ago, successfully launched the Texas wind industry.)

"God is giving you all this stuff; you need to use it," said Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, who has authored a measure that would require power companies to get more electricity from alternative energy sources.