BBC reports that, come 2020, solar panels will be built into every new California home. This new mandate follows a unanimous vote by The California Energy Commission, but is pending approval from the Building Standards Commission. The move is the state’s next big step towards ending greenhouse gas emissions, though the state law already requires that 50% of all electricity comes from non carbon-emitting sources by 2030, making it the best state in the US for solar energy, according to The Solar Energy Industries Association.
The Energy Commission estimates that homeowners will only see an additional $40 to monthly mortgage payments and will potentially save $80 on heating, cooling and lighting costs per month, despite critics’ quick attempts to undermine the plan by citing a potential $8,000 (£5,900) and $12,000 increase to any given home’s cost.
Seeing as not every home in conducive to solar panel construction, builders will have the option of adding solar panels to individual homes, or building shared power systems for a group of homes. There will also be exceptions made for areas where solar power is not feasible, such as lots almost completely covered in shade.
Nearly 16% of the California’s electricity was powered by solar energy last year, and the state has already invested over $42m in solar energy to date, a number that will surely grow if this mandate goes into effect. The Building Standards Commission is expected to make a decision later this year, and if they approve, this will be another in countless examples of California leading the way in renewable energy innovation.
Lynn Jurich, co-founder of solar installation company Sunrun, told the New York Times that large market expansions like this make this kind of solar expansion more cost-effective, and that there is “a real American sense of freedom of producing electricity on [your] rooftop.”
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