California’s Solar Panel Rule Packed with Challenges, Opportunities

Newswise — EVANSTON, Ill. --- The California Energy Commission has unanimously adopted a new building measure that requires solar panels on all new homes starting in 2020.

Northwestern University professors are available to discuss the feasibility, challenges, benefits and effects of this new rule.

Eric Masanet's work focuses on the analysis of clean energy technology systems and related public policies, and he has extensive experience analyzing energy/climate policies in California, including California’s landmark cap and trade program and energy efficiency programs.

From 2015-17, Masanet led the International Energy Agency’s Demand Technology Unit, which was responsible for analyzing clean energy technologies for the global buildings sector, and he can, therefore, comment specifically on the rationale, benefits and impacts of California’s new rule in the context of international activities related to climate change mitigation.

Masanet is an associate professor of mechanical engineering, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering and director of the Energy and Resource Systems Analysis Laboratory.

He can be reached at 312-792-9776 or [email protected].

Jennifer Dunn, a research associate professor in the McCormick School of Engineering and the director of research for the Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering, works in energy systems and studies emerging technologies, their energy and environmental impacts and their potential to influence air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and energy consumption at the economy-wide level.

Quote from Professor Dunn
“Increasing the use of renewable energy like solar power is an important strategy for reducing emissions, including greenhouse gas and air pollutants, associated with conventional energy production and this policy gets at that aim. There are a number of factors to consider as this policy is implemented, including whether it’s helpful to install these panels on all homes given some will be in areas that are predominantly cloudy or shaded and the eventual need to recycle these panels to enable reuse of the valuable materials they contain and limit landfilled waste. 

“Homeowners and governments need to adopt a systems perspective as this rolls out, given the higher up-front construction and purchase costs that will be paid back through lower utility bills. How long this will take depends on how much energy each home uses. Keeping data on payback period will be very important to help other states assess whether this type of policy would work for them.”

Dunn is available for interviews after May 11, and she can be reached at 312-404-3116 or jennifer.dunn1@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Reguant
“My opinion is in line with prominent energy economists in California such as Severin Borenstein, who has publicly addressed the regulator. It seems inefficient to force solar panels in every single house given that there are equally clean but cheaper ways to produce energy. It is also unclear what the costs for adapting the grid to such panels will be, increasing the effective marginal costs of these panels as penetration increases.

“To be clear, I think we should do every single effort to reduce emissions, but if we manage to spend the same dollars and get even more reductions, then it is even better.”

Reguant can be reached at [email protected].