Starting Jan. 1, 2014, developers will be required to install solar power systems on every new single-family home built in Lancaster, Calif. — a city that leads the state of California in solar generating capacity. Lancaster has been touted as the perfect place to implement such a historic law since the city basks in sunshine for about 300 days a year, has a high altitude and a whole lot of flat roofs — the perfect combination to maximize the benefits of solar power.
The new mandate will be written in Lancaster’s “Residential Zones Update” and requires homes built on lots at least 7,000-square-feet in size to produce at least one kilowatt (kW) of solar electricity and homes on lots greater than 10,000-square-feet to produce at least 1.5 kW.
A draft of the update with the new mandate reads as follows: “The purpose of the solar energy system standards is to encourage investment in solar energy on all parcels in the city, while providing guidelines for the installation of those systems that are consistent with the architectural and building standards of the City.”
Though it’s California’s 30th largest city with some 155,000 residents, many of them conservative, Lancaster actually leads the state in solar generating capacity, and if you ask Republican Mayor R. Rex Parris’s about the mandate he’ll tell you his goal is to make Lancaster the “solar capital of the universe,” not just California.
Not everyone is happy about the push for environmentally-friendly developments and cheaper electricity bills though — namely those in the building industry.
While addressing the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, Parris talked about the new regulations he would be proposing and how he planned to respond to critics. “I understand the building industry is not happy with this. We will just have to take the heat. I could not do that without a city council — made up of people who want a political career — with the courage to take that heat.”
The new mandate may be the first of its kind, but it’s not the first time Lancaster has launched an arguably innovative solar program. In 2010 the city partnered with SolarCity and launched a solar financing program for homeowners, nonprofits and businesses called Solar Lancaster. By partnering with a solar system designer, the city was able to offer resident discounted solar pricing, customer solar system designs and solar system monitoring.
“[Lancaster] is the best-kept secret in Los Angeles County,” Parris said while talking to the Los Angeles Times about the program in 2010. “With the uniqueness of our latitude and longitude and elevation and air quality, we’re going to produce more energy than we consume before 2020.”
Six city sites, including City Hall and the Clear Channel Stadium, had panels totaling 2.5 megawatts installed, which is expected to save the city an estimated $7 million over 15 years.
While California may be the solar power leader, there are just a handful of states in the U.S. that have yet to implement any sort of law related to solar power or access to solar power, which is indicative that at least on a local level, the U.S. is working toward clean energy techniques.
The federal government also passed a federal tax incentive related to solar energy investments for both commercial and residential solar installations. Among other things, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 offers a 30 percent tax credit for eight years, and is set to expire Dec. 31, 2016.