Solar Energy

In the city's sustainability plan, a section on Green Building Standards recommends the adoption of requirements and guidelines to promote energy efficiency and energy conservation in the construction, renovation, and operation of buildings, and calls for considering roofs with solar panels or other renewable energy sources on multifamily and commercial buildings (Initiative 1.1, p. 24).

The plan's Initiative 1.5, Renewable Energy Generation, calls for addressing impediments to renewable energy in the local building and zoning codes and exploring opportunities for renewable energy production on public land and in public buildings to facilitate the generation of renewable energy (p. 32). Recommended short-term actions include amending building and zoning codes to accommodate appropriate forms of renewable energy production; medium-term actions include inventorying public property to find suitable locations for renewable energy generation, conducting feasibility studies for city-funded projects, exploring third-party solar purchasing agreements, and adopting a renewable energy generation plan based on these analyses; long-term recommendations include continuing to evaluate local codes and implement renewable energy production plans (p. 33).