California has officially launched its “net zero” requirements for new homes, which will mandate rooftop solar or the equivalent for new residential construction. Marketplace on NPR covered the story, including an interview with me:

As I blogged previously, the edict comes not without controversy, particularly from economists convinced that utility-scale solar PV is more cost-effective than the rooftop, distributed type. Still, the mandate has flexibility along these lines and promotes other cost-effective forms of distributed energy, such as community solar and on-site energy storage.

And as California pioneers this approach, we’ll soon have data on how effective it will be, potentially as a model (or lesson) for other jurisdictions contemplating the adoption of similar programs.