San Francisco has passed a law requiring all new buildings below 10 stories to have solar panels installed on their rooftops. It becomes the first major US city to mandate solar panel installations on new constructions and forms part of a wider vision to generate 100 percent of its electricity via renewable energy.
The Better Roofs Ordinance was passed unanimously by the city's Board of Supervisors, and will apply to new constructions both commercial and residential from January next year, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
"Activating underutilized roof space is a smart and efficient way to promote the use of solar energy and improve our environment," says Supervisor Scott Wiener, who introduced the legislation in February. "We need to continue to pursue aggressive renewable energy policies to ensure a sustainable future for our city and our region."
Other governments around the world have adopted similar policies, including the states of Maharashtra and Haryana in India. Dubai also plans to make rooftop solar panels mandatory for all buildings starting in 2030, as part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. More locally, the smaller Californian cities of Lancaster and Sebastopol introduced compulsory rooftop solar panels in 2013.
San Francisco's new regulations add to already existing Californian laws which require 15 percent of rooftops on buildings of 10 stories or less to be unshaded and solar ready. Under the new law, buildings must have either solar photovoltaic or solar water panels installed, or a mix of the two.
As part of a concerted effort to one day run the city entirely on renewables, the mayor set up a taskforce in 2011 to develop policies and programs that steer it in this direction. It hopes to achieve this goal by 2025.
Source: Scott Wiener
Might as well adapt and get with the coming changes. Renewables will go mainstream over the next decade as storage cost becomes economically viable. Hopefully this law also includes all single-family homes too. Just like builders today just include plumbing, light fixtures, windows, doors, etc. hopefully this will be one of those things all over the world in a decade or two. Plumbing and electrification was also add-ons to existing structures back in the day.
I guess guys like Derek & Mark would have thought of communism too when internal plumbing and electrification of all new structures became law back in the day?
You said "Renewable's will go mainstream over the next decade as storage cost becomes economically viable". Which is true, but that also means that currently it isn't viable. Currently it's cheaper to just tap into the grids power then to construct your own solar plant on your roof.
Solar is nearly as cheap as coal, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to have solar panels on their roof. Some people don't want the hassle, some don't like the look of it. In any case, it should be up to the property owner, not the local communist government.
FYI, I'm a electrician, and I have installed several solar panels on homes.