California Mandates Mark Major Victory for Solar Roofing Industry

The newly constructed metal “solar building” had to be designed with cost-effective solutions for the long-term both for the PV project and various recycling programs within the building.

CLEVELAND — A new Freedonia Group analysis projects that the expanding impact of solar-friendly policies in a growing number of states and localities across the U.S. will drive rapid growth in the solar roofing market through 2025, especially in California.

California further advanced its lead in the national solar roofing market with the passage of two mandates in 2020 and 2021 requiring nearly all new residential and commercial buildings in the state to include solar products starting in 2023.

While such mandates have been passed before in cities such as San Francisco and South Miami, Florida, this marks the first such mandate in the country to be adopted at the state level.

In addition to significantly increasing solar roofing sales in the state, the California mandates are expected to influence other states to pass legislation promoting solar installations. Environment America, the organization that helped drive the California mandates, plans to launch similar campaigns in 10 additional states in 2022.

U.S. Solar Roofing Market to Grow from <$50 Million in 2020 to Nearly $1 Billion in 2025

The market for solar roofing products in the U.S. is forecast to increase rapidly to 716,000 squares, valued at $965 million in 2025. In addition to the expanding impact of solar-friendly policies nationwide, factors supporting long-term growth for solar roofing products include:

Rising awareness of the energy-efficiency benefits of solar roofing systems.
The attractive appearance of solar roofing compared to traditional solar arrays (e.g., solar roofing resembles traditional roofing materials).
The growing availability, affordability, and accessibility of solar roofing products (e.g., Tesla expanded solar roof installations nationwide in 2021).
Expansion of local, state, and federal incentives (e.g., tax credits, net metering benefits, rebates) to install solar roofing product.

Solar Roofing, now available from The Freedonia Group, presents historical data for 2020 and forecasts for 2025 and 2030 for US solar roofing demand in value, area, and roof-mount electricity generation (which includes both solar panels and solar roofing), and for regional demand in squares.

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