San Francisco to require solar panels on new buildings

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3058731/sustainable-it/san-francisco-to-require-solar-panels-on-new-buildings.html

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week unanimously passed legislation to require all new commercial or residential buildings with 10 or fewer stories to have solar panels.

The Better Roofs ordinance was penned by Supervisor Scott Wiener, who said the measure was needed to fight climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

"Activating underutilized roof space is a smart and efficient way to promote the use of solar energy and improve our environment," Wiener said in a statement about the vote. "We need to continue to pursue aggressive renewable energy policies to ensure a sustainable future for our city and our region."

A federal study released earlier this month revealed that installing solar panels on every roof in the U.S. would supply 39% of the nation's total power used.