State lawmakers are taking a serious look at requiring new homes in Hawaii to have solar water-heating systems, according to theHonolulu Advertiser.
Two House committees have recently advanced a bill that would require the installation of solar thermal water heaters in single-family homes built after Jan. 1, 2010. It also would restrict the current state solar thermal energy system tax credit to homes built before 2010.
House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee Chairwoman Hermina Morita cited high oil prices and the “uncertainty of state revenues,” as reasons for a closer look at alternatives. If the legislation becomes law, the Advertiser reports, Hawaii would be the first state with such a mandate, according to the Sierra Club Hawaii chapter.
