Right now, about one in five new homes in California comes with solar panels already installed. In two years, it will be all of them.
On Wednesday, California Energy Commission's vote was unanimous: California will soon become the first state to require solar panels on all new homes and on residential buildings smaller than four stories.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020, specifies the minimum size of the system would be based on the size of the building and can vary between 2 and 7 kilowatts of output per dwelling.
California mandates solar panels on all new homes by 2020
Also at https://www.nytimes.com
An editorial in the Los Angeles Times expresses support for the measure.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Whoever on Saturday May 12 2018, @04:56PM
While it's possible your depressing prediction may be correct, I think that there is a factor and a supplier you are not considering.
I think this will be a huge boost for Tesla. While Tesla Solar Roofs are expensive in comparison to slapping a few panels onto a roof; the economics make a lot more sense in the context of building a roof for a newly constructed house. What is the warranty on those? Lifetime?
People who buy solar systems now are usually somewhat knowledgeable about what they are buying and expect a 20-year warranty, but if it's just part of buying a new house, people may not realize that 20-year warranties are the norm for solar panels, so allowing low-cost, short lifetime panels to be developed and sold.
Of course, if CA had mandated a specific warranty for the solar systems on new houses, you would be screaming about how this is anti-free market.
Oh, wait, CA law already requires a 10-year warranty for solar systems. So your post is mostly BS. What a surprise.