Solar industry, housing advocates clash over affordable-housing exemptions in energy code

Multiple solar-industry witnesses and housing advocates told the council the proposed exemptions to on-site renewable requirements would disproportionately harm low-income housing residents.

"This exemption deprives low income residents of long term energy or long term utility savings by permitting developers to cut solar capacity by 25 to 50% on affordable housing," said Rhys Clippard of ANR Solar, testifying for Shift0. Amy Carpenter of Solterra Solar and representatives of Shift0 and other solar firms urged the council to reject exemptions 3.4 and 3.5 in section C4.11 (on-site renewables), arguing that fee-in-lieu provisions and off-site transfers delay energy benefits and complicate project approvals.

Others urged practical amendments: Amy Carpenter asked that multifamily required sizing be capped at the estimated annual usage of the house meter to avoid mandating equipment that provides no usable benefit. Mikael Zuidweg (MZU Solar Consulting) asked the council to measure on-site renewables in energy (annual energy generation) rather than power (nameplate capacity) to ensure technology neutrality and consistent accounting.

Affordable-housing advocates and climate groups told the council that rooftop solar installed during construction creates the lowest life-cycle cost for tenants and improves resilience during grid outages and wildfire-induced outages. The debate raised equity and administrative-capacity issues: proponents of the exemptions said they were intended to reduce first costs or administrative burdens on affordable projects; opponents said those options institutionalize disadvantaged outcomes for low-income residents.

The council made no adoption decisions at the hearing; the record will be part of the rulemaking docket for the Sept. 25, 2026 decision.