California To Become First US State Mandating Solar On New Homes

[DamianTV]

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/...r-on-new-homes

OCRegister reports that "The California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday, May 9, on new energy standards mandating most new homes have solar panels starting in 2020." From the report:

Just 15 percent to 20 percent of new single-family homes built include solar, according to Bob Raymer, technical director for the California Building Industry Association. The proposed new rules would deviate slightly from another much-heralded objective: Requiring all new homes be "net-zero," meaning they would produce enough solar power to offset all electricity and natural gas consumed over the course of a year. New thinking has made that goal obsolete, state officials say. True "zero-net-energy" homes still rely on the electric power grid at night, they explained, a time when more generating plants come online using fossil fuels to generate power. In addition to widespread adoption of solar power, the new provisions include a push to increase battery storage and increase reliance on electricity over natural gas.

[Working Poor]

I think it could be a good thing.

[specsaregood]

I think it could be a good thing.

Yes, mandates making homes even more expensive are always a good thing.

[timosman]

I think it could be a good thing.

We'll never stop trying to regulate you to death.

Your government.

[Working Poor]

Yes, mandates making homes even more expensive are always a good thing.

California is going to regulate no matter what. I don't think installing solar in new construction is going to raise the cost all that much but that will depend a lot on who you do business with. The technology continues to get better and more economical. A smart designer will find ways to make it worth while.

[Origanalist]

I think it could be a good thing.

Wow.

[timosman]

Wow.

Stockholm syndrome on display.

[Origanalist]

Stockholm syndrome on display.

I find it a little disturbing that someone who's been here since 2008 would make that statement, but I shouldn't be surprised I guess.

[dean.engelhardt]

California is going to regulate no matter what. I don't think installing solar in new construction is going to raise the cost all that much but that will depend a lot on who you do business with. The technology continues to get better and more economical. A smart designer will find ways to make it worth while.

When the state regulates something that is better accomplished by the free market, it always benefits the government and hurts the consumers/tax payer. The energy free market will find solution that works best for the consumer and supplier. That may mean hydrogen power instead of solar or maybe more efficient fossil fuel appliances.

The state mandate opens the door for lobbyist. The lobbyist organization that pays off the politicians the most, gets a monopoly. The solar company with the monopoly will have no incentive to help the environment or the consumer; just extract as much profit as possible. The only ones that will benefit are the politicians and solar supplier.

[timosman]

I find it a little disturbing that someone who's been here since 2008 would make that statement, but I shouldn't be surprised I guess.

It is pretty obvious you are not a very well adjusted member of the society. You should appreciate your government efforts a little bit more.

[specsaregood]

I find it a little disturbing that someone who's been here since 2008 would make that statement, but I shouldn't be surprised I guess.

We just need to keep increasing the base price of a house, to keep the working poor from ever owning one.

[Origanalist]

We just need to keep increasing the base price of a house, to keep the working poor from ever owning one.

Brilliant!

[timosman]

We just need to keep increasing the base price of a house, to keep the working poor from ever owning one.

We are also spending $#@! load of money on subsidies to make housing more affordable for the lucky few who can get enrolled in our programs. It seems this double dipping strategy is going to work for quite a while. Aren't we clever?

[TheTexan]

I think it could be a good thing.

Possibly even a Great thing.

[Michael Landon]

Solar panels on new homes is a good thing. The government mandating it is a bad thing.

- ML

[Pauls' Revere]

Solar panels on new homes is a good thing. The government mandating it is a bad thing.

- ML

^^this^^

I'm all for solar, hell I'd get solar if I could go off grid. The mandating is terrible. Perhaps even in the long run this reduces our national dependence on oil and thus Middle East politics (wishful thinking?).

[timosman]

^^this^^

I'm all for solar, hell I'd get solar if I could go off grid. The mandating is terrible. Perhaps even in the long run this reduces our national dependence on oil and thus Middle East politics (wishful thinking?).

No, no. That's exactly what this is for.

[Anti Federalist]

^^this^^

I'm all for solar, hell I'd get solar if I could go off grid. The mandating is terrible. Perhaps even in the long run this reduces our national dependence on oil and thus Middle East politics (wishful thinking?).

We are not dependent on Middle Eastern oil anymore.

Not only have we become the world' biggest producer, we are close to becoming the biggest exporter as well.

If it wasn't for Eco-Weenies, like the Kalifornians proposing this new fatwa, banning drilling and production, we'd already be past that point.


Citi: U.S. To Become World’s Top Oil Exporter

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...-Exporter.html

By Tim Daiss - May 02, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT

As global oil markets shift their attention from U.S. shale oil production back to a resurgent Saudi Arabia and Russia and geopolitical concerns bearing down on oil prices, Citigroup said last Wednesday that the U.S. is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia next year as the world’s largest exporter of crude and oil products.

The U.S. exported a record 8.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week of crude oil and petroleum products, the government also said Wednesday. Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s, for its part, exported 9.3 million bpd in January, while Russia exported 7.4 million bpd, the bank added.

[Anti Federalist]

Just 15 percent to 20 percent of new single-family homes built include solar, according to Bob Raymer, technical director for the California Building Industry Association. The proposed new rules would deviate slightly from another much-heralded objective: Requiring all new homes be "net-zero," meaning they would produce enough solar power to offset all electricity and natural gas consumed over the course of a year. New thinking has made that goal obsolete, state officials say. True "zero-net-energy" homes still rely on the electric power grid at night, they explained, a time when more generating plants come online using fossil fuels to generate power. In addition to widespread adoption of solar power, the new provisions include a push to increase battery storage and increase reliance on electricity over natural gas.

Wow, there is just so much wrong with that, I don't even know where to start.

[Anti Federalist]

Yes, mandates making homes even more expensive are always a good thing.

While in the middle of homelessness crisis.

$#@!ing geniuses, this mob is.

Oh well, Idiot Kaliforians voted for it, now they're gonna get it.

[Dr.3D]

We'll never stop trying to regulate you to death.

Your government.

[spudea]

California is going to regulate no matter what. I don't think installing solar in new construction is going to raise the cost all that much but that will depend a lot on who you do business with. The technology continues to get better and more economical. A smart designer will find ways to make it worth while.

If this were true, the state wouldn't need to mandate anything, home builders and consumers would make it happen on their own. The reason the state has to mandate it is precisely because it is not better or more economical.

[Suzanimal]

What could possibly go wrong?

Interview with a builder mentioned in the op.

Banks, appraisers don’t understand the value of solar homes, building exec says

...

Q: Why don’t more people buy solar and net-zero homes?

...

And then the last piece is (mortgage) underwriting. You want to spend $10 to save $30, which is kind of what you do when you build a zero-energy home. The underwriting doesn’t give you the credit to spend the initial, upfront money to reduce the total cost of the home. So buyers can often be prohibited by just their availability of funds.

They have to choose between square footage and total performance of a home. And sometimes pragmatically, they’re forced down the path of square footage because the appraisal and the underwriting standards don’t give them that proper valuation for these higher performance homes.

Q: Do those appraisal and mortgage underwriting standards exist?

A: They exist as options.

There are some banks that offer something called an energy-efficient mortgage, which takes the reduced operating cost of a home and improves the underwriting ratio for the buyers.

Q: How many lenders offer the “energy-efficient mortgage?”

A: The last time I looked, there were three energy-efficient mortgages written in the entire U.S.

Q: Three in the whole country?

A: Correct. In the entire country.

...

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/05/0...ing-exec-says/

[Pauls' Revere]

We are not dependent on Middle Eastern oil anymore.

Not only have we become the world' biggest producer, we are close to becoming the biggest exporter as well.

If it wasn't for Eco-Weenies, like the Kalifornians proposing this new fatwa, banning drilling and production, we'd already be past that point.


Citi: U.S. To Become World’s Top Oil Exporter

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...-Exporter.html

By Tim Daiss - May 02, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT

As global oil markets shift their attention from U.S. shale oil production back to a resurgent Saudi Arabia and Russia and geopolitical concerns bearing down on oil prices, Citigroup said last Wednesday that the U.S. is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia next year as the world’s largest exporter of crude and oil products.

The U.S. exported a record 8.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week of crude oil and petroleum products, the government also said Wednesday. Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s, for its part, exported 9.3 million bpd in January, while Russia exported 7.4 million bpd, the bank added.

Then why is gas so expensive. We should have a glut of oil and swimming in it. Even with taxes removed prices are still to high for the supply on hand. Who's pinching the supply lines?

[Anti Federalist]

Then why is gas so expensive. We should have a glut of oil and swimming in it. Even with taxes removed prices are still to high for the supply on hand. Who's pinching the supply lines?

More than one reason:

Global crude supply being pinched by OPEC cutbacks.

Recovering and growing economies in India and China.

Finger $#@!ing of "money" value.

Declining refining capacity in the US due to ridiculous and out of control fatwas and mandates.

Compliance costs with numerous localized fatwas decreeing what blend of gasoline can be sold where and when.

[spudea]

Then why is gas so expensive. We should have a glut of oil and swimming in it. Even with taxes removed prices are still to high for the supply on hand. Who's pinching the supply lines?

Our own government has practically outlawed new refineries.

[Anti Federalist]

Then why is gas so expensive. We should have a glut of oil and swimming in it. Even with taxes removed prices are still to high for the supply on hand. Who's pinching the supply lines?

All that said...a gallon of gas costs about the same as it did in 1940, when adjusted for fedreserve shenanigans.

[angelatc]

Yes, mandates making homes even more expensive are always a good thing.

It will certainly help with those low housing costs in CA, too!

[Zippyjuan]

We are not dependent on Middle Eastern oil anymore.

Not only have we become the world' biggest producer, we are close to becoming the biggest exporter as well.

If it wasn't for Eco-Weenies, like the Kalifornians proposing this new fatwa, banning drilling and production, we'd already be past that point.


Citi: U.S. To Become World’s Top Oil Exporter

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-G...-Exporter.html

By Tim Daiss - May 02, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT

As global oil markets shift their attention from U.S. shale oil production back to a resurgent Saudi Arabia and Russia and geopolitical concerns bearing down on oil prices, Citigroup said last Wednesday that the U.S. is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia next year as the world’s largest exporter of crude and oil products.

The U.S. exported a record 8.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week of crude oil and petroleum products, the government also said Wednesday. Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s, for its part, exported 9.3 million bpd in January, while Russia exported 7.4 million bpd, the bank added.

US will not top oil exports but we have been at or near the top in "oil products" for a while now. We refine for example much of Canada and Venezuela's oil and ship the refined products back to them. Refined petroleum products is our #1 export. Until 2015, exporting unrefined oil was banned. In terms of just crude oil, Russia and Saudi Arabia each export about five times as much as we do.

[Anti Federalist]

US will not top oil exports but we have been at or near the top in "oil products" for a while now. We refine for example much of Canada and Venezuela's oil and ship the refined products back to them. Refined petroleum products is our #1 export. Until 2015, exporting unrefined oil was banned. In terms of just crude oil, Russia and Saudi Arabia each export about five times as much as we do.

Yes, that's correct, which is why we are poised to reach the point of top crude exporter.

From the same article:

The U.S. exported a record 8.3 million barrels per day (bpd) last week of crude oil and petroleum products, the government also said Wednesday. Top crude oil exporter Saudi Arabia’s, for its part, exported 9.3 million bpd in January, while Russia exported 7.4 million bpd, the bank added.

Though Citi has projected that the U.S. could bypass Saudi Arabia in the export of crude and petroleum products, U.S. crude oil exports have been relatively low compared to other major oil producers since the Obama Administration lifted the ban of American crude oil exports in 2015.

Nonetheless, U.S. crude exports are poised for an upward trajectory. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the U.S. crude exports last week increased by 582,000 bpd to 2.331 bpd, an all-time high.