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In San Francisco, green energy will become a necessity
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
San Francisco is getting closer to its 2025 goal of providing the city with 100% green energy. The city recently passed a regulation requiring new buildings to be equipped with solar panels for lighting or heating the home. The bill goes into effect on January 1 next year.
In essence, it is a continuation of an existing bill, according to which at least 15% of the roof of new buildings must be set aside for the installation of solar panels, i.e. there must not be any shading on these areas of the roof.
The new regulation assumes that the roof areas reserved for solar panels will not just remain empty, they must be equipped with solar installations, this rule only applies to new buildings of 10 or more stories. It is worth noting that in San Francisco, buildings of more than 10 stories are very popular, as opposed to sparsely populated cities, so this requirement in the bill can be considered not the most stringent.
The move by one of California's most populous cities will certainly set an example for other cities, and the new legislation will bring the city closer to its 2025 clean electricity production goal.
The Department of Environmental Affairs approved the program presented by Scott Wiener and noted that this approach will increase the solar energy of existing roofs by more than 7 MW, which in turn will provide electricity for 2,500 homes. Of course, for San Francisco, such a number of homes cannot be considered a huge achievement, but in any case, it will significantly reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere in the future.
According to Scott Wiener, a Democrat, using renewable energy makes San Francisco independent of fossil fuels, and such policies make San Francisco a leading city that cares about the future of the planet.
By the way, in the fight to preserve the environment, scientists suggest using materials not only for heating the house. In Massachusetts, scientists have developed a polymer film that absorbs solar energy during the day and retains heat until it is needed. According to scientists, their development will be especially useful in northern regions, but will also suit athletes, tourists and ordinary fashionistas.
The principle of the film is that it is able to "absorb" the sun's energy and store it until a certain moment. Heat production can be activated using light, electricity and other catalysts. For example, a jacket made of polymer film can be activated by a flash of light, according to the developers, the material can heat up to 15 0 C and it is quite easy to manufacture (the production process takes place in 2 stages). Now scientists are looking for opportunities to use their development not only in clothing, but also in window glass and industrial goods.