Home > posts > City of South Miami Contemplates Its Own New Solar Mandate Boondoggle
June 30th, 2017 1:09 pm
City of South Miami Contemplates Its Own New Solar Mandate Boondoggle
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From Solyndra to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s energy subsidy boondoggle, opposition to costly and harmful “green energy” mandates at the federal, state and local levels remains one of the most important components of CFIF’s mission.

Unfortunately, the City of South Miami, Florida offers the latest example in the litany of ill-advised energy mandates.  But the positive news is that it can still be stopped.

City officials have proposed a new ordinance mandating installation of solar panels on every new residential construction project, as well as every expansion of existing residences.  Four similar ordinances exist in the U.S., all of them in California, that exemplar of wise legislation.

What could possibly go wrong, right?

For starters, the new solar mandate is too expensive for average consumers.  Panel installation costs approximately $25,000 for one 10 kilowatt rooftop system, which in addition to a Miami level mortgage can raise monthly costs beyond whatever electrical savings the panels might provide.  Among other things, that opens the door to advocates later demanding taxpayer subsidies to cover that cost, a la Solyndra and other green energy subsidies with which Americans have become all too familiar.

Another conspicuous problem is that no impact study has yet been performed on the ordinance.  Without a reliable assessment of how the ordinance will affect future home construction and costs, particularly for lower-income residents, how can anyone reasonably assess how the proposed law would impact the city?

And that’s just a partial list of the flaws in this proposed ordinance.  The bottom line is that without more due diligence, consumer protections, safety precautions and impact studies on businesses and residents alike, allowing the ordinance to pass would be the height of irresponsible local governance.

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