SOLAR ON EVERY NEW HOME IS COMING

California City Wants to Require Solar on Every New Home; A Republican mayor campaigns for a historic requirement for solar on new homes.

Herman K. Trabish, March 1, 2013 (Greentech Media)

“Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, California, wants every new home in his city to host solar. And starting next January, that could be a reality…[As] homebuilder KB Home celebrated its 1,000th new home with solar panels from SunPower…Mayor Parris announced his city will institute a first-of-its-kind requirement that solar be installed on every new single-family home built in Lancaster after January 1, 2014.

“The new law will be written into Lancaster’s “Residential Zones Update” on residential solar. Along with a range of green building provisions, it specifies that new single family homes meet minimum solar system requirements…Residential homes on lots from 7,000 square feet must have a solar system of 1.0 kilowatt to 1.5 kilowatts. Rural residential homes of up to 100,000 square feet must have a system of at least 1.5 kilowatts.”

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“The standards spell out simple, common-sense rules for both roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems…A builder’s model home must show the kind of solar system the builder will offer…Builders of subdivisions will be able to aggregate the houses’ requirements…[E]ach phase [of a project] must meet the requirement…Multi-family developments can meet the requirement with a rooftop system or a system on a support or shade structure…[and] builders may choose to meet…[the] requirement off-site by providing evidence of purchasing solar energy credits…

“Mayor Parris, who frequently promises to make Lancaster “the solar energy capital of the world,” expressed confidence that he has the City Council votes for approval, despite resistance from the building industry…Even with resistance from some members of the building community, the market is shifting…One of every five built in California this year will be solar powered…Mayor Parris, a Republican, noted that…[when you show Republicans] a solution, they will take it…”

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