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Rooftop solar panels will become mandatory in California in 2023
The California Energy Commission (CEC) unanimously approved a bill to mandate solar panels for homes under construction. According to the document, all state developers will be required to install photovoltaic cells on commercial buildings from 2023. The state authorities are confident that the decision will have a strong impact on the ecology of California - by 2050, the effect will be comparable to the annual abandonment of 2.2 million gasoline cars.
The new bill, dubbed the 2022 Energy Code, applies to all commercial buildings. This list includes hotels, offices, healthcare facilities, movie theaters, retail and grocery stores, as well as restaurants and schools. Regulators have left only two options in which construction companies can avoid installing solar panels - in the construction of residential buildings and special government agencies.
The CEC proposal also encourages the use of electric heat pumps for space heating and plumbing, the use of battery packs and the installation of chargers for electric vehicles. The ultimate goal of the commission is simple - to shut off all buildings in the state from natural gas and fully switch to renewable energy by 2050.
“The 2022 Energy Code is strongly aligning California's buildings with clean, low-carbon technologies that will be the foundation of our shared journey into the future. This project will help the state achieve its critical long-term climate and carbon neutrality goals, ”said CEC Chief Commissioner J. Andrew McAllister.
The commission provided data on the basis of which a new bill was developed. The regulator estimates that homes and businesses use nearly 70% of California's electricity and are responsible for a quarter of the state's CO2 emissions. The new plan will cut consumer spending by $ 1.5 billion and cut CO2 emissions by 10 million metric tons over 30 years.
