Lancaster, California, produces more solar power per capita than any other city in the state. Devastated by the recession of 2009, when unemployment rose to 17%, the city has made its commitment to solar the basis of its economic rebirth. Today it is home to the BYD truck and bus factory, which just finished an expansion that tripled its original size.
Lancaster, California, is located northeast of Los Angeles near Edwards Air Force Base. It lies at the edge of the Mojave Desert, where abundant sunshine is the order of the day. The city has been a leader in clean, renewable energy since 2011 and has been requiring builders to install solar panels on all new homes since 2014. Its policies have served as a model for other California communities, including Sebastopol, Santa Monica, and San Francisco. Now, the city seeks to raise the bar by requiring each new home to have a rooftop solar system large enough to meet its full energy needs.
Originally published on Cost of Solar. Home solar panels are “the new granite countertops,” according to Tom Werner, CEO of US-based SunPower, one of the largest solar panel companies in the world. What does that mean? That means that, for an increasing number of new homeowners, solar panels are becoming an add-on … [continued]
On March 4, we wrote about Lancaster’s requirement that all new single-family homes have solar panels installed on them. So we skipped covering the confirmation of that when the City Council of Lancaster (CA) made it official on March 26. However, I’ve decided to come back to it for one … [continued]
