A San Francisco city councilor will propose a new regulation that could soon mandate solar panels on most new construction in the city and on many existing apartment buildings.
David Chiu, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, says he will introduce the resolution to require all new buildings include solar panels, rooftop gardens, or both. The rule would apply to commercial and residential buildings alike, wherever feasible.
Chiu says some skyscrapers with rooftop mechanical systems may not have the space for PVs and that many single-family dwellings would not be suitable even if the owners could afford them. Chiu’s Solar Vision 2020 proposal would curb the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and boost the thriving local solar industry.
It would make permanent an existing city program that gives homeowners, businesses, and nonprofit groups money to defray the cost of installing solar arrays. It would also establish a goal of roughly doubling the amount of solar electricity generated in the city, from 26 megawatts today to 50 megawatts in 2020. The director of the urban development group Housing Action Coalition warned that the program could boost construction costs in a city with a shortage of affordable housing.
(http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Proposed-S-F-law-would-put-a-solar-panel-on-5827997.php)
Related Stories
| Oct 20, 2011
LEED 2012 to require real-time energy, water use reporting
The LEED 2012 rating system, set to launch in November 2012, will contain features to make sure buildings function as intended, and improve over time.
| Oct 20, 2011
New York City moving to speedier, online design reviews
New York City is moving towards a development design review process that will let officials and developers review blueprints for new projects online in a virtual conference room rather than in person.
| Oct 20, 2011
Michigan bill would let private firms operate as a city’s building department
Michigan House Bill 5011 would change state’s building code to allow private companies to operate as a municipality's building department.
| Oct 20, 2011
Alabama’s strict immigration law drives away construction workers
Alabama's strict new immigration law is driving many construction workers and roofers from the state.
| Oct 20, 2011
Fed bill would allow school rehab funding via historic tax credits
Virginia Sens. Jim Webb (D) and Mark Warner (D) introduced a bill this month to rehab aging schools across the country through the use of historic tax credits.
| Oct 20, 2011
Process leads to new design values for southern pine and other visually graded dimension lumber
A summary of the process used to develop new design values will clarify many of the questions received by the SFPA.
| Oct 19, 2011
Another drop for Architecture Billings Index
Positive conditions seen last month were more of an aberration.
| Oct 18, 2011
Dow Building Solutions invests in two research facilities to deliver data to building and construction industry
State-of-the-art monitoring system allows researchers to collect, analyze and process the performance of wall systems.
| Oct 14, 2011
ACI partners with CRSI to launch new adhesive anchor certification program
Adhesive anchor installer certification required in new ACI 318-11.
| Oct 13, 2011
New Building Materials Label Focuses On Sustainability
Architectural products company Construction Specialities and design firm Perkins + Will have created a label for building materials to shed light on product content.
