California agency backs solar and storage mandate for new commercial buildings

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A solar system at a Los Angeles Lakers training facility. Image: LG Electronics USA.

The California Energy Commission has approved rules that would require new buildings, including multi-family housing and commercial structures, to be equipped with solar and battery storage.

Following the introduction of a mandate last year that means virtually all new homes in the state have to incorporate solar, the new rules would apply to newly built apartment complexes, office blocks, schools, restaurants, and retail and medical buildings.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The latest changes were included in the 2022 California Energy Code, which was adopted by the CEC last week. The 2022 update will be submitted to the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC), which is scheduled to consider it in December. If approved by the CBSC, the new requirements would go into effect from 1 January 2023.

As a result of the CEC vote, virtually all new buildings in California will have solar, and many others could have battery storage, said Evelyn Butler, vice president of technical services at the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“Buildings with solar and storage will provide Californians with cleaner and greener living and working spaces. The rules will significantly contribute to improved grid reliability and local resilience, which is a key part of our clean energy transformation,” she said.

According to the CEC, homes and businesses use nearly 70% of California’s electricity and are responsible for a quarter of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The state’s electricity mix is already more than 60% carbon free, it was revealed in a joint report published earlier this year by the CEC, the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Air Resources Board.

For California to reach its target of having a 100% zero-carbon electricity grid by 2045, the three agencies said the state needs to deploy an additional 70GW of utility-scale solar and 49GW of battery storage.

Read Next

September 4, 2025
Fraunhofer ISE has completed testing work of grid-forming inverters currently available in the energy industry.
September 4, 2025
Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to accelerate the permitting of energy generation projects that could be set to lose IRA support.
September 3, 2025
India has added 2.8GW of rooftop solar in H1 2025, a 158% year-on-year surge from just 1.1GW in the same period last year.
September 2, 2025
Spanish construction firm GES (Global Energy Services) has secured a contract to build a roughly 700MW solar-wind-storage hybrid project in Chile.
Premium
September 2, 2025
In August 2025, the final month of Australia’s winter, utility-scale and rooftop solar PV generation in the National Electricity Market (NEM) saw a dramatic 22.5% month-on-month increase to 3,338GWh.
September 1, 2025
California's solar and storage association has called for US$10 million fines for PG&E and SCE for failing to approve residential solar and storage projects applications quickly.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines