The City of San Francisco has passed an ambitious ordinance, (like our by-laws) that requires new buildings 10 stories and under to have solar PV or solar thermal panels installed. The new requirement comes into effect on January 1, 2017 and is part of the city’s plan to meet its target to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The city’s new requirement goes one step further than California’s already existing state-wide law that requires new buildings to have 15 per cent of roof surface area be exposed to sunshine.
Supervisor Scott Wiener, the city’s San Francisco Board of Supervisors, is in the middle of driving through legislation on living roofs on new buildings. Living roofs are impermeable, solidly sealed roofs with a layer of soil and some vegetation, typically grass, growing in it. Living roofs have a lot of benefits including providing insulation, absorbing rainwater and creating a habitat for wild life.
