KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
California became the first state in the country to require solar panels for new homes Thursday, impacting several developments in the Santa Clarita Valley.
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The California Energy Commission adopted new building standards, which mandate new homes built across the state to have solar energy starting in 2020.
The initiative is part of the “2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards,” which focuses on cutting energy use in new homes by more than 50 percent and is set to go into effect by Jan. 1, 2020, according to the energy commission.
“Under these new standards, buildings will perform better than ever, at the same time they contribute to a reliable grid,” said Commissioner Andrew McAllister. “The buildings that Californians buy and live in will operate very efficiently while generating their own clean energy.”
But some public officials are concerned this measure could increase housing prices in a state that has a high-cost of living.
“The price of housing in California is already through the roof, now we are going to require solar panels on that roof? All this is going to do is raise the price of construction even higher,” said Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita. “California already pays bordering states to take our excess solar power, so this doesn’t make economic or environmental sense.”
The new requirements are expected to impact several developments in Santa Clarita, including Newhall Ranch and Vista Canyon.
Newhall Ranch has already incorporated solar panels into the proposed 21,000 homes near Highway 126 as part of their “Net Zero” initiative.
The development is planning onsite measures including the installation of rooftop and neighborhood solar arrays and deployment of EV charging stations at individual homes and throughout the community.
Vista Canyon, a mixed-use project near Highway 14 in Canyon Country, also has green energy incorporated into the plans for the development.
The energy needs for Vista Canyon are expected to be met through a combination of wind power, solar panels and batteries in order to meet the energy demands of the residents and businesses.
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What is the maintenance cost going to be? I’m not sure the collected rays of the sun is helpful to my health or the health of my environment. Once cancer rates increase in the neighborhood my old home will be worth a fortune. Hum, maybe now would be a good time to invest in old houses and save for retirement. This solar fad is going to be outdated in a few years. Now how are you going to dispose of all the solar materials used? VIVA France, now those people know they’re getting screwed.
Really? There is no routine maintenance cost unless you want to pay someone else to periodically wash the panels off. Every decade or so you might have to replace the inverter at a tune of $1000-$1500 current market value for cheaper grid tie inverters in typical 3kW size for homes (and that’s if it was irresponsibly placed outside in the sun where it has to work harder to cool itself than say inside a shaded or air conditioned structure. Solar equipment does NOT collect sun rays. It converts sun light into electricity and the light at that point is now electrons, not something that causes cancer. In fact, the glass covered panels will help keep the house cooler because they reflect some of sunlight back up at the sky like any glass window. If you are worried that glass windows will raise cancer rates then I would suggest living in a cave.
This is a real step forward towards getting rid of fossil fuels. Thank heavens most Californians understand the importance of addressing climate change. It is sad that the above reader would prefer to have us riot than calmly address issues. I say Viva la California!
Representative Wilk, like many of his colleagues these days, is spreading disinformation in his rant about solar increasing housing costs. All it does it increase the loan amount. This is offset by the decrease in annual power-bills or surplus rebates handily. Especially in a hot environment lie California. It no longer makes sense to not deploy solar when solar is cheaper than utility company power rates from other sources. California does not PAY anyone to take solar power, they pay us for it except for one strange day which was a market malfunction caused by deregulation (hmm, who voted for that? Let’s see..). The costs of solar are still continuing to fall making this more and more attractive. Sometimes you have to push boundaries to make progress in society. Climate change is one of those areas we can’t wait for the Joneses to keep up in. If we want to continue to live in a survivable environment we have only two choices, reduce net energy usage carbon emissions to near ZERO, or quit expanding the population and in fact shrink it from todays levels. One solution is tolerable, the other is not tolerable by those in power and mass religion, so I would say California has chosen pretty wisely.