> California requires solar power on every new house.
No, it doesn't, though it will soon.
> It's a huge cost.
The estimates of $10-30k are under (to far under) 5% of the median home price (for all sales, not just new homes, which would drive the median much higher). It's obviously not a significant current cost driver, and it also won't be a big cost driver when the mandate actually applies next year.
Mandatory solar panels might be a small fraction of housing costs but the cost of regulations isn’t from one big regulation. It’s from adding regulations over and over until the cost is twice what it needs to be.
$30,000 here, $30,000 there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.
> They're going to require solar power on all new houses?
Yes, as of Jan 1, 2020.
> That's insane.
It's $10-30k of upfront cost for $19-$60k of 30 years savings (and the same sources estimating the higher cost figure estimate the higher savings figure), and it greatly advances California's renewable share of generation, and solar output peaks correlate well with aggregate demand peaks in CA.
As public policy solutions go, it is eminently sensible.
No, it doesn't, though it will soon.
> It's a huge cost.
The estimates of $10-30k are under (to far under) 5% of the median home price (for all sales, not just new homes, which would drive the median much higher). It's obviously not a significant current cost driver, and it also won't be a big cost driver when the mandate actually applies next year.