The New Jersey State Assembly passed a solar homes bill (A1558) that will require developers in the state to offer solar power to new homebuyers.
The bill passed the assembly by a vote of 72 in favor, 5 opposed, 2 not voting. The bill unanimously passed the Senate on February 23rd, and will now move to the governor’s desk for final approval.
Under the bill, developers will also be required to explain the economic and environmental benefits of incorporating solar in new construction.
“Solar is a proven technology that can put New Jerseyans back to work and reduce our dependence upon dirty and dangerous power plants,” said Matt Elliott, Global Warming and Clean Energy Advocate at Environment New Jersey. “We need to seize every opportunity to grow our solar market, and this bill is an important piece of the strategy.”
Already, New Jersey is a national leader on solar power, ranking second only to California for number of solar projects online. Solar advocates believe that bills such as this will further grow the market in New Jersey and help to position the state as a clean energy innovator.
“Today, we have close to 3,700 solar projects across the state,” said Elliott. “Now it’s time to kick it into high gear and really plug into the sun. This bill, combined with other new laws and incentives for solar power, can help move us toward a day when 100% of our electricity is clean and renewable.”
The solar homes bill takes advantage of a number of solar benefits:
- Solar is significantly less expensive when incorporated into new construction.
- Homebuyers can roll the cost of solar into their tax-deductible home mortgage, relieving many expensive up-front costs.
- Homes can be designed and constructed to maximize a solar system’s output.
- Solar can reduce the strain on the electric grid caused by new construction.
In Related News…
This week Texas legislators are considering a slew of bills that would boost state incentives for solar power. Altogether there are 69 renewable energy bills before the legislature, and over 50 of them promote solar power.
Read New York Times coverage at the link below.
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I find it very strange that NJ is requiring buliders to explain / offer something that doesn’t make financial sense. The payback on residential solar isn’t there unless a lot of taxpayer money is taken into the equation – which I think is the wrong way to go.