California reverses its course on solar

California Reverses its Course on Solar Policy

For years, California has been leading the united states in progressing environmental policies. More than two decades before the united states could pass the Clean Air Act, California was the first state in the country to pass an air pollution legislation in 1947. Spurred by the country’s strongest and most innovative building code, new buildings in that state now use 75 percent less energy, than the buildings before the code. Further, California is the only state with its own greenhouse gas emission cap and trade program, which has earned it about $2.5 billion in revenue. This is from the emission permits. Led by the state’s Silicon Valley, the state has been on the forefront leading the nation in generating inventions for electric and self-driving cars and also a smart electricity grid which is helping in the creation of

renewable-based economy.

In the fall of 2018, California became the 2nd state after Hawaii to commit to the transition of 100 percent clean electricity by the year 2045. Shortly after, the University of California set a goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by the year 2025. In December 2019, California achieved another milestone, a major one; one million solar roofs, and in January, that state became the first in building new homes with solar panels on the roofs. This shows that the state is committed to the goal of environmental sustainability, setting bold clean energy goals and marching towards them.

That is why it is disappointing that in February this year, the California Energy Commission (CEC) reversed on a statewide policy that all new houses be built without solar panels. The California regulators approved the proposal allowing builders to construct homes without solar panels. A decision majority of the critics says undercuts California’s 7 weeks old law (at the time of the proposal) that allowed new houses to have their own solar power.

Some cities in the state have adopted the solar home’s policy because it would make a significant impact on combating climate change. According to a 2018 report published Environment California, Research & Policy Center found that the policy could increase the state’s existing solar capacity 22 percent by 2045, while also cutting carbon emissions equivalent to taking 115,000 cars off the road. What’s disturbing is the fact that

CEC estimated that homeowners would save up to $19,000 in energy and maintenance costs, double what solar panels would add to the cost of a new home over the course of a 30-year mortgage. But instead of considering the deal brought about by the policy, CEC approves the proposal from Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to build a utility-scale solar farm rather than build new homes with solar panels. That decision undercuts the entire point of the law.

In the midst of ravaging environmental crises – from air pollution to wildfires, we cannot miss the opportunities to transition to renewable energy sources. The best course of action is to move forward into a future powered entirely by clean energy and taking advantage of the plentiful energy given freely by the sun plays a key role in the transition. Solar panels on the roof won’t transition the state to clean and renewable energy, but it is an important part of that transition. Rather than rolling back on the building code leaders should be exploring new solar home rules by supporting policies such as “adding solar panels and batteries to every school across the state, building community solar projects for the apartment-dwellers and others without their own rooftop space, and developing offshore wind power and large-scale energy storage.”

Sources and works cited https://environmentamerica.org/blogs/environmentamerica-blog/ame/california-reverses-course-commonsense-solar-policy https://e360.yale.edu/features/in-the-face-of-trumpenvironmental-rollback-california-stands-in-defiance

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