California Just Became the First State to Require Solar Panels on New Residential Construction
California just became the first state to mandate solar panels on nearly all new residential homes.
The mandate is part of California’s “Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan,” which includes the goal that both residential and commercial construction be zero net energy by 2030—meaning the buildings’ annual energy usage is either less than or equal to the renewable energy generated onsite. California was also the first state to require net zero energy through building code.
The solar panel requirement, which applies to new single and multi-family home construction up to three stories high, was included in an update to the state’s building energy efficiency standards. The California Energy Commission approved the standards today and they will become effective January 1, 2020.
California has been a leader in statewide initiatives to combat climate change, including setting aggressive goals like lowering carbon pollution to at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, as well as requiring that utility companies get at least 50 percent of all electricity from renewables by the same year. About 20 percent of California’s new homes are built with solar arrays and the state has held about a third of the nation’s total jobs in solar since 2013, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A state energy department analysis estimates the new building code will add about 5,400 jobs to that market.
https://www.motherjones.com/environ...solar-panels-on-new-residential-construction/
California just became the first state to mandate solar panels on nearly all new residential homes.
The mandate is part of California’s “Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan,” which includes the goal that both residential and commercial construction be zero net energy by 2030—meaning the buildings’ annual energy usage is either less than or equal to the renewable energy generated onsite. California was also the first state to require net zero energy through building code.
The solar panel requirement, which applies to new single and multi-family home construction up to three stories high, was included in an update to the state’s building energy efficiency standards. The California Energy Commission approved the standards today and they will become effective January 1, 2020.
California has been a leader in statewide initiatives to combat climate change, including setting aggressive goals like lowering carbon pollution to at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, as well as requiring that utility companies get at least 50 percent of all electricity from renewables by the same year. About 20 percent of California’s new homes are built with solar arrays and the state has held about a third of the nation’s total jobs in solar since 2013, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A state energy department analysis estimates the new building code will add about 5,400 jobs to that market.
https://www.motherjones.com/environ...solar-panels-on-new-residential-construction/
