Tag Archives: Environment America

Home Solar Capacity Could Triple If Other States Follow California Mandate

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

A new study from Environment America Research & Policy Center urges other states to follow California’s lead in requiring all new buildings have solar on them. If states would adopt such mandates, which California adopted earlier this year, the home solar market could triple by 2045.

It would also cut carbon dioxide emissions from electricity production by more than 9% over the same time.

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“Every home and structure built without solar is a missed opportunity,” said Bret Fanshaw, Go Solar Campaign director with Environment America Research & Policy Center. “Generating renewable energy from our rooftops helps homeowners and their communities, reducing both electric bills and pollution.”

In May, California became the first state to propose building all new homes with solar panels, a policy which would go into effect in 2020. The state energy commission estimates that a solar homes policy, coupled with energy efficiency improvements, will save homeowners $19,000 in energy and maintenance costs over the course of a typical 30-year mortgage — double what they would add to the cost of a home. Later this week, the California Building Standards Commission will meet to review the proposal.

“The new National Climate Assessment makes it clear that we need to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible, and solar energy is key to that transition,” said Abi Bradford, policy analyst and report co-author with Frontier Group. “Installing solar panels on all new homes could add more solar energy capacity than the entire country currently has installed — including utility-scale installations — in just six years from 2020 to 2026.”

The fastest-growing states would add the most solar energy if the policy were adopted, with Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona ranked at the top. The report also provides state-by-state estimates for the potential reductions in carbon emissions.

“We can have solar-powered communities right now and for years to come with smart policy choices,” said Fanshaw. “And the most efficient time to install solar panels is when workers are already on the roof.”

More Than 200 Mayors Join Group’s Efforts To Support Solar Energy

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

With a decided lack of leadership at the national level on moving clean energy policy forward – and in some cases taking significant steps backward instead – the power to affect change in environmental policy necessarily is defaulting to the city and state level.

That’s why the latest numbers from Environment America’s Research and Policy Center’s announcement yesterday that more than 200 mayors across the United States – 216 in fact – have signed its letter calling for more solar energy is such an exciting development.

Even more exciting is the fact that the signatories aren’t limited to states and regions that have traditionally supported solar power as a natural part of their development. From every region of the country, solar energy is gaining momentum as the environmentally smart choice.

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“While our federal government is promoting 19th-century energy policies, Americans can look to local governments to lead the United States’ transition to clean energy,” said Emma Searson, Environment America’s Go Solar Campaign Advocate in a press release announcing the news. “Mayors across the country are rising to the challenge — thinking bigger, acting smarter, and tapping the sun for more power.”

The list of 216 mayors who signed the letter spans the political spectrum, including 25 Republicans, as well as a broad range of city sizes and budgets. Republican Mayor James Brainard of Carmel, Ind., is proud to support solar in his community and says it’s a “no-brainer” for every city to consider:

“Even as Carmel continues its substantial growth, our city is working aggressively to reduce our carbon footprint well below what it was several years ago, when we were a smaller community,” Brainard said in the release. “Solar plays a major role in that effort, including more than 6,100 panels on four major facilities: our water treatment plant, a sanitary sewer pump station and two public parking garages in our city center. They’ll cost about $3.2 million but yield well over twice that in energy savings over the life of the panels. All this in a part of the country that hardly gets sunshine every day of the year.”

What Brainard says is true – solar isn’t just for the sunny states anymore. As battery storage and other technological improvements continue to grow, the range of regions that can successfully install solar continues to expand as well. So the letter signed by these mayors is just another signal to the national government that it should get its act together and support solar energy – because the Solar Revolution is already here, whether the fossil fuel interests that dominate our politics like it or not.