Resolution Support San Francisco Solar Requirements

[SAN FRANCISCO SOLAR REQUIREMENTS]
 

COMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENT RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF SAN FRANCISCO SOLAR POLICY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
 

WHEREAS, The City and County of San Francisco, under Ordinance 81-08, endorsed a goal for the City to have a greenhouse gas (GHG)-free electric system by 2030 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide to 40% below 1990 levels by 2025 and 80% by 2050; and,
WHEREAS, Energy consumption in buildings is responsible for 52 percent of all carbon emissions in San Francisco; and,
WHEREAS, Locally produced renewable energy benefits the health, welfare and resiliency of San Francisco and its residents and reduces carbon emissions associated with energy consumption in buildings; and,
WHEREAS, On-site production of renewable energy saves property owners or tenants money by lowering utility bills and increasing the stability of energy costs; and,
WHEREAS, rooftops are underutilized and valuable real estate with multiple potential uses, including solar installations, which can play a key role in reaching San Francisco’s greenhouse gas and sustainability goals; and,
WHEREAS, San Francisco is already a leader in promoting the use of renewable energy, including solar energy, with more than 4,000 solar energy systems currently installed on building rooftops; and,
WHEREAS, The cost of installing rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in San Francisco has declined by 50 percent in the last 5 years; and,
WHEREAS, Solar power infrastructure is less expensive to install during new construction than when installed on existing buildings due to a number of reasons including (1) workers are already on-site, (b) the sales cycle is significantly shorter, (c) permitting and administrative costs are lower, and (d) it is more cost-effective to finance solar systems through the existing construction; and,
WHEREAS, as of July 1, 2014, California State Energy Code, Title 24, includes a solar ready requirement “to provide penetration free and shade free portion of the roof, called the solar zone, so that the future installation of a solar energy system is not precluded by the original design and layout of the building and its associated equipment”; and,
WHEREAS, In March 2013 the city of Lancaster, California, became the first city in the nation to establish a policy requiring solar energy installations on new residential construction beginning January 1, 2014; and,
WHEREAS, In May 2013 the city of Sebastopol, California became the second city in the nation to require solar installations on new development on residential construction and the first city to require solar installations on new commercial buildings and residential alterations that exceed 75% of the building structure; and,
  WHEREAS, San Francisco has established its own groundbreaking clean energy initiatives, such as the landmark GoSolarSF incentive program, the Solar@Work and SF SunShares group purchasing programs, and the newly re-launched GreenFinanceSF Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, that help reduce the cost of solar installations and allow qualified developers and property owners to finance solar installations over the useful life of the system; and,
WHEREAS, Increasing solar installations in San Francisco not only supports the city’s environmental policy goals but also promotes environmental justice regionally and statewide by helping to eliminate dirty fossil fuel power plants often located in low-income communities of color; and,
WHEREAS, Solar power helps increase housing affordability by decreasing energy costs for the eventual occupants of solarized homes and apartments in the form of reduced energy bills; and,
WHEREAS, Solar installations also create good-paying clean energy jobs that benefit San Francisco’s workforce and local solar installation community; now, therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, That the Commission supports  the Department of Environment in  exploring the development of policies that would require the inclusion of solar energy systems on newly constructed buildings and potentially on existing buildings undergoing substantial alterations, under appropriate conditions, throughout the City and County of San Francisco; and, be it,
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Commission supports the Department of the Environment consulting with relevant stakeholders including, but not necessarily limited to, business (including local real estate developers, contractors, and solar industry professionals), labor, environmentalists, and community representatives, along with relevant City departments (including the Department of Building Inspection, the Planning Department, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) in drafting such policies.

I hereby certify that this Resolution was adopted at the Commission on the Environment’s Meeting on July 22, 2014.

Monica Fish, Commission Secretary
VOTE:      4-0 Approved; 2 Absent; 1 Vacant
AYES:      Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, King and Wan
NOES:     None
ABSENT:  Commissioners Stephenson and Wald