By Cesareo Contreras
/ Metro West Daily News Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2019 at 5:58 PM Updated at 8:35 PM
Legislators filed joint bills in the Massachusetts Senate and the House that if passed would require nearly every new commercial and residential building to be outfitted with solar panels.
Three Massachusetts legislators are proposing an ambitious change to help the state offset its use of fossil fuels.
Sen. James Eldridge, D-Action; Rep. Jack Lewis, D-Framingham; and Rep. Michael Connolly, D-Cambridge, filed joint bills in the Senate and the House that if passed would require nearly every new commercial and residential building to be outfitted with solar panels.
Both versions of the bill, “An Act Increasing Rooftop Solar Energy,” are being reviewed by the Senate Ways and Means committee.
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Following in the footsteps of California, which approved a similar law in 2018, the Massachusetts lawmakers hope the mandate will help the state make a meaningful dent in combating climate change. (Last year, Watertown passed an ordinance that required commercial buildings to have solar panels on them.)
Should the two bills pass, the state will amend its building code within one year to include minimum construction standards for solar panel systems. That would involve, among other things, adding specific requirements for the types of roofs home builders and construction workers must install to meet solar panel structural demands.
Additionally, specific energy requirements will be set for each type of building.
