California solar panel mandate for new buildings advances

LOS ANGELES California regulators voted Wednesday to require builders to incorporate solar and battery storage into many new commercial structures and high-rise projects, the latest initiative in the states’ vigorous efforts to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources.

The five-member California Energy Commission unanimously approved the proposal. It will now be taken over by the state’s Building Standards Commission, which is expected to include it in a general review of the building code in December.

The energy plan, which would come into effect on January 1, 2023, also includes incentives to eliminate natural gas from new buildings and to make it easier to add batteries to existing solar systems in single-family homes.

The future they tried to build together is a future beyond fossil fuels, said David Hochschild, the chair of the Energy Committee, ahead of the agencies’ vote. Big changes require everyone to play a part. We all have a role in building this future.

The commercial buildings affected by the plan include hotels, offices, medical offices and clinics, shops and supermarkets, restaurants, schools and public spaces such as theatres, auditoriums and convention centers.

The provisions would complement requirements that came into effect last year that require new single-family and multi-family homes up to three stories high to contain solar energy.

Homes and businesses use nearly 70 percent of California’s electricity and are responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the commission. It said the proposals approved on Wednesday would reduce emissions in 30 years as much as taking nearly 2.2 million cars off the road for a year.

Lindsay Buckley, a spokeswoman for the Energy Commission, said that while there is no guarantee that the plans will be approved by the Building Standards Commission, such a proposal was never rejected after approval by the energy panel.

Along with consumers and environmental groups, representatives from utility companies including Southern California’s Edison, one of the investor-owned utilities, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District spoke in support of the code changes.

Mr. Hochschild said the committee heard some opposition while developing the code change, particularly from Southern California Gas, which supplies much of the natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southern California.

The head of the organization representing the states’ solar and battery companies said that while she felt the code change was necessary, policies under review by other state regulators could undermine the benefits.

The official, Bernadette Del Chiaro, the executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association, said that while utilities had praised the commission plan, they had suggested reducing the benefits homeowners and businesses receive for excess electricity they produce and send to the grid. Reduce .

Owners of rooftop solar systems receive compensation equal to the retail cost of electricity, a scheme that utilities say is unfair to people without such systems. The California Public Utilities Commission, a separate regulatory agency that oversees investor-owned utilities, is considering an amendment to the regulation, known as net energy metering.

Any change in grid measurement puts these standards at risk, Ms Del Chiaro said. Net metering is the little guy’s only chance to get relief, and they want to put the kibosh on it.

Californians have felt the urgency to move away from fossil fuels as climate change has caused extreme weather events, contributing to some of the most devastating wildfires in the states. And in addition to reducing CO2 emissions, solar energy has been embraced as a way to avoid power outages.

Investor-owned utilities have turned off power for a week to prevent electrical equipment from causing fires. Consumers are therefore increasingly looking for solar panels and battery storage as secondary energy sources.

During public comments to the Energy Commission on Wednesday, speakers urged regulators to help ensure the safety of states’ residents in the face of all the devastation.

We can hear the passion and only the urgency and emotion that motivates people to find out, said Commissioner Andrew McAllister. California is being forced to lead even more than ever.

The latest major change to the state’s building code energy regulations, requiring new single-family homes to be equipped with solar power, was approved in 2018. The rules came into effect on January 1, 2020.

The impact has been limited so far, as builders who already had permits were able to operate below previous standards, and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year disrupted operations and the issuing of permits.

The primary focus, Mr McAllister said, should be to recognize the important role building code changes can play in helping to reduce emissions. This is a huge lever that California needs to pull to get the attention of the market, he said.