We’re kicking off our Solar Homes campaign
Michigan needs to show leadership on solar power and require all new homes to be built with solar panels when feasible.
Today we kicked off our Solar Homes campaign. We’re pushing for a state-wide requirement for all new homes to have solar panels installed on them when they’re built. The easiest, cheapest time to do this is during construction. And, we know solar works in Michigan.
You might not know that Environment Michigan is part of the Environment America network of state offices and an office in Washington, D. C. This allows us to use the combined voices of our members around the country to push for clean air, clean water, and renewable energy. One of our network priorities is our Destination Zero Carbon campaign. Simply put, we need to get serious about getting the U.S. to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and this campaign is the place where we collect all our work on things like more electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, commitments to 100% renewable energy from universities, cities, and states, and our Solar Homes campaign. There’s no magic bullet for preventing the worst of climate change. It’ll take a lot of different solutions across the globe in things like energy, transportation, and land use.
Solar panels on homes reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. They also add to grid resiliency, which means things like reducing the extent of power outages during severe weather events and preventing brownouts during peak energy use times. Without getting into the technical details, this grid resiliency also helps foster more renewables on the grid.
Imagine having a home where you knew half of your electricity came from the zero carbon solar panels on your own roof. Imagine easily finding homes with existing solar panels to make that happen. That’s the point of our Solar Homes campaign.
