California to force new home owners to buy solar panels | Watts Up With That?

California to force new home owners to buy solar panels

Listen up comrade! You WILL buy solar panels whether you like it or not.

As if housing in California isn’t already overpriced and out-of-reach enough, now there’s this hare-brained scheme. From the LA Times:

California heads toward requiring solar panels on all new houses

California is set to become the first state to require solar panels on all newly built single-family houses. The mandate is expected to save buyers money in the long run but also raise their upfront costs at a time many are already struggling to afford a mortgage.

The state’s Energy Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the rules, which are expected to pass and take effect in 2020. The regulations, which would also apply to new multifamily buildings of three stories or fewer, don’t need the approval of the Legislature.

The new building standards — which also include updated insulation mandates — are a piece of California’s ambitious plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades. That will require sweeping policy changes to promote renewable energy, electric vehicles and even denser neighborhoods where people have to drive less for daily trips.

“This is going to be a significant increase in the solar market in California,” Kelly Knutsen of the trade group California Solar & Storage Assn. said of the new requirement. “We are also sending a national message that … we are a leader in the clean energy economy.”

…

If the new rules added $9,500 to the sales price of an otherwise $530,000 home, a buyer putting 20% down would need to cough up an additional $1,900 for the down payment, according to a mortgage calculator from online brokerage Redfin.

Monthly mortgage payments would rise by $50 if the buyer took out a 30-year mortgage at 4.39% interest.

Full story here

h/t to Willis for the LA Times article