There’s a new rule on the horizon and some contractors are less than thrilled.
SPW said by 2020 all new homes built in California must have solar panels installed and the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) isn’t thrilled about the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) solar power mandate, but they knew it was an inevitability.
The association has actually been working alongside the CEC to make the upcoming transition as painless as possible.
Bob Raymer, CBIA technical director, said the association had a number of requests of the CEC who worked them to resolve those requests leading to the ultimate support of the adoption of the standard.
The CBIA was initially unsupportive of the mandate, citing more pressing issues such as California’s affordable housing crisis.
“California ranks definitely at rock-bottom when it comes to housing affordability for first-time homebuyers,” Raymer said. “A whole lot of our builders focus on the entry-level housing.”
Even the building industry wasn’t necessarily enthusiastic the solar mandate on new homes, builders will have to find the most cost-effective and streamlined ways to add solar or risk falling behind.
