San Francisco will soon begin requiring new buildings to have solar panels installed on the roof.
It’s the first major U.S. city to have such a requirement, according to Scott Weiner, the city supervisor who introduced the bill.
The ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the city’s Board of Supervisors, builds on an existing California law requiring new buildings to set aside 15 percent of the roof as “solar ready” — clear and unshaded. That law applies to residential and commercial buildings 10 stories or shorter.