San Francisco Makes Solar Panels Mandatory Starting Next Year

There’s a much greater push now to adopt solar power as there are numerous benefits of adopting renewable energy sources as opposed to the conventional methods of generating power. San Francisco hopes that one day 100 percent of its energy will come from renewable resources and it has now passed legislation that will help it achieve that goal. The legislation makes solar panels mandatory for all new construction starting next year.

This is actually an extension of existing legislation that required 15 percent of a rooftop to be served for solar use. The extension mandates that newly constructed buildings that are ten stories tall or shorter must install solar panels or solar water heaters on roofs. The law doesn’t go into effect immediately, for that, we have to wait until January 1st.

This is all well and good but whether this legislation contributes to a growth in the use of solar energy remains to be seen. Building residents are likely to complain about sunlight being blocked, some buildings are already facing strong opposition from residents on this front, and that’s an issue which is not likely to die down easily.

Furthermore, there aren’t a lot of buildings being constructed in San Francisco that are under ten stories which means they’re not covered under this law so the effect it has on the actual shift towards solar energy might be limited.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: solar energy, solar panels