Balcony Solar & Small-Scale Solar Device Laws by State — Every State Statute + Federal Law Compared

“(13) “mechanical contractor” means a contractor whose business operations involve plumbing, pipe fitting, sheet metal, heating, air conditioning, ventilating, or sprinkler and dry chemical fire protection trades in order to install or modify mechanical piping and systems, devices, fixtures, and equipment or other mechanical materials subject to the following codes as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials or the International …”

“A. Counties shall adopt the following standards for issuing permits for the use of certain solar energy devices:”

“(14) “Net-metering facility” means a facility for the production of electric energy that: Uses solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, or biomass resources to generate electricity, including, but not limited to, fuel cells and micro turbines that generate electricity if the fuel source is entirely derived from renewable resources;”

“This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Solar Shade Control Act. It is the policy of the state to promote all feasible means of energy conservation and all feasible uses of alternative energy supply sources. In particular, the state encourages the planting and maintenance of trees and shrubs to create shading, moderate outdoor temperatures, and provide various economic and aesthetic benefits. However, there are certain situations in which the need for …”

“(j) “Residential solar energy system” means a configuration of solar energy devices that collect and distribute solar energy for the purpose of generating electricity and that has a single residential interconnection with the electric utility transmission or distribution network.”

“(3) “Plumbing and piping work” means the installation, repair, replacement, alteration, maintenance, inspection or testing of gas, water and associated fixtures, tubing and piping mains and branch lines up to and including the closest valve to a machine or equipment used in the manufacturing process, laboratory equipment, sanitary equipment, other than subsurface sewage disposal systems, fire prevention apparatus, all water systems for human usage, sewage treatment …”

“b. Establishing REC and SREC aggregation mechanisms and other devices to encourage the deployment of renewable, distributed renewable, and solar energy technologies, including community-owned energy generating facilities, in Delaware with the least impact on retail electricity suppliers, municipal electric companies and rural electric cooperatives;”

“(2) The term “appliance” means any energy consuming article or device designed for household use or small business use, the primary purpose of which is labor saving or personal convenience, and which, although connected to public utilities servicing a building, is not attached to the building in such a way that it would be considered a part of the building or building system. Central heat pumps, central air conditioners, and central heating units are not appliances for …”

“(f) A solar contractor shall not be required to subcontract minor, as defined by board rule, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or roofing work so long as that work is within the scope of the license held by the solar contractor and where such work exclusively pertains to the installation of residential solar energy equipment as defined by rules of the board adopted in conjunction with the Electrical Contracting Licensing Board.”

“(a) On or after January 1, 2010, no building permit shall be issued for a new single-family dwelling that does not include a solar water heater system that meets the standards established pursuant to section 269-44, unless the chief energy officer of the Hawaii state energy office approves a variance. A variance application shall only be accepted if submitted by an architect or mechanical engineer licensed under chapter 464, who attests that:”

“(7) “Solar energy system” means a system or configuration of energy devices that collects and uses solar energy to generate electricity to be used by a consumer.”

“(a) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. (b) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund shall be administered by the Agency as described in this subsection (b), provided that the changes to this subsection (b) made by Public Act 99-906 shall not interfere with existing contracts under this Section. (1) The Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund shall be used to purchase …”

“Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "solar easement" means an easement obtained for the purpose of exposure of a solar energy device or a passive solar energy system to the direct rays of the sun.”

“6. “Solar collector” means a device or structural feature of a building that collects solar energy and that is part of a system for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy. For purposes of this chapter, a greenhouse is a solar collector.”

“(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any otherwise enforceable restriction on the use of any tract of land for the production of wind or solar energy whether or not such restriction is in the form of an easement for a definite term.”

“(c) The energy needs of the Commonwealth are best met by continuing to engage in an all-of-the-above approach to electric generation resources, including but not limited to coal, oil, natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, nuclear, and any future or emerging technologies like hydrogen power;”

“A. The secretary shall develop and adopt, in cooperation with affected utility, agricultural, and solar industries; landowners; and consumer representatives and after one or more public hearings, regulations governing solar power generation facilities and property leases for the exploration, development, and production of solar energy. The regulations shall be designed to encourage the development and use of solar energy and to provide maximum information to the public …”

“1. Solar energy equipment. "Solar energy equipment" means all controls, tanks, pumps, heat exchangers, collectors and all other equipment necessary for the collection, transfer and storage of solar energy, as determined by the Governor's Energy Office. Passive solar energy systems or those systems using natural means to collect, store and transfer solar energy may not be included under this chapter.”

“(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (7) of this subsection, on written application, the Foundation shall release free of easement restrictions only for the landowner who originally sold an easement, 1 acre or less for the purpose of constructing a dwelling house for the use only of that landowner or child of the landowner, up to a maximum of three lots, subject to the following conditions:”

“Any provision in an instrument relative to the ownership or use of real property which purports to forbid or unreasonably restrict the installation or use of a solar energy system as defined in section one A of chapter forty A or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy shall be void.”

“(y) "Photovoltaic energy system" means a solar energy device composed of 1 or more photovoltaic cells or photovoltaic modules and an inverter or other power conditioning unit. A photovoltaic system may also include batteries for power storage or an electricity storage device. As used in this subdivision:”

“(c) The commissioner shall evaluate the plan on the basis of cost-effectiveness and the reliability of technologies employed. The commissioner's order must provide to the extent practicable for a free choice, by consumers participating in an energy conservation program, of the device, method, material, or project constituting the energy conservation improvement and for a free choice of the seller, installer, or contractor of the energy conservation improvement, provided …”

“2. Any easements obtained for the purpose of construction, reconstruction, remodeling or acquisition of a solar energy device shall only be created in writing and shall be subject to the same conveyancing and instrument recording requirements as other easements. Any instrument creating a solar easement shall include, but not be limited to: The vertical and horizontal angles, expressed in degrees, at which the solar easement extends over the real property subject to the …”

“(7) "Passive solar system" means a direct thermal energy system that uses the structure of a building and its operable components to provide heating or cooling during the appropriate times of the year by using the climate resources available at the site. The term includes only those portions and components of a building that are expressly designed and required for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy and that are not standard components of a …”

“Residential energy conservation device shall mean any prudent means of reducing the demands for conventional fuels or increasing the supply or efficiency of these fuels in residential housing and shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Caulking and weather stripping of doors and windows; (2) Furnace efficiency modifications, including: (a) Replacement burners, furnaces, heat pumps, or boilers or any combination thereof which, as determined by the Director of Water, …”

“1. Any covenant, restriction or condition contained in a deed, contract or other legal instrument which affects the transfer or sale of, or any other interest in, real property and which prohibits or unreasonably restricts or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the owner of the property from using a system for obtaining solar energy on his or her property is void and unenforceable.”

“(b) "Distributed energy resources" means energy storage, electric generation equipment including clean and renewable generation, energy efficiency, demand response, load reduction or control programs, or technologies or devices located on or interconnected to the local electric distribution system for purposes including but not limited to reducing line losses, supporting voltage regulation, or peak load shaving, as part of a strategy for minimizing transmission and …”

“1. a. Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this act, the Pinelands Commission shall adopt rules and regulations providing for the approval of the development of a solar or photovoltaic energy facility or structure in the pinelands area on the site of a landfill or resource extraction operation, provided that the development is consistent with the comprehensive management plan, adopted pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-8), and:”

“A. There is established at northern New Mexico state school a "solar energy research park and academy" to conduct applied research on solar energy storage devices, on photovoltaic technology, on solar thermal and concentrated solar technologies and on other alternative renewable energy sources. Northern New Mexico state school shall collaborate with Los Alamos national laboratory to develop technology transfer applications related to solar energy.”

“§ 11-104. State energy conservation construction code. In addition to\nmeeting the purposes set forth in section 11-101 of this article, the\ncode shall be designed to satisfy the following specific criteria:\n 1. The code's standards and requirements, so far as may be\npracticable, shall be formulated in terms of performance objectives.\n 2. To the fullest extent feasible, use of modern technical methods,\ndevices and improvements which tend to minimize consumption of …”

“(4b) "Fusion energy" means the product of fusion reactions inside a fusion device, used for the purpose of generating electricity or other commercially usable forms of energy.”

“Any easement obtained for the purpose of exposure of a solar energy device to the direct rays of the sun shall be created in writing and shall be subject to the same conveyancing and instrument recording requirements as other easements. The term "solar energy device" means the device, mechanism, or apparatus designed to receive the direct rays of the sun and convert those rays into heat, electrical, or other form of energy for the purpose of providing heating, cooling, or …”

“(10) Installation or modification of systems that harvest renewable energy from solar, wind, water, biomass, bio-gas, or geothermal sources, for use primarily within a building or complex of buildings;”

“A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Airspace Severance Restriction Act”. B. It is the intent of this act to restrict the permanent severing of the airspace over any real property located in this state for the purpose of developing and operating commercial wind or solar energy conversion systems. Leasing arrangements for development of wind or solar energy conversion systems may be made only with the legally authorized owner of the surface estate pursuant …”

“(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the council may not impose any standard developed under subsection (1)(b), (f), (j) or (k) of this section to approve or deny an application for an energy facility producing power from wind, solar or geothermal energy. However, the council may, to the extent it determines appropriate, apply any standards adopted under subsection (1)(b), (f), (j) or (k) of this section to impose conditions on any site certificate issued …”

“(4) Installs equipment to facilitate or improve energy conservation or energy efficiency, including heating and cooling equipment and solar thermal equipment.”

“(1) “Solar easement” means a right, whether or not stated in the form of restriction, easement, covenant, or conditions in any deed, will, or other instrument executed by or on behalf of any owner of land or solar skyspace for the purpose of ensuring adequate exposure of a solar energy system as defined in § 44-39-1(b)(1).”

“(1) generates or discharges electricity from a renewable energy resource, including an energy storage device configured to receive electrical charge solely from an onsite renewable energy resource;”

“(1) "Collector system," all property used or constructed to interconnect individual wind turbines or solar panels within a renewable facility into a common project, including inverters, step-up transformers, electrical collection equipment, collector substation transformers, and communication systems;”

“As used in this part, “solar energy system” means any device, mechanism, structure, apparatus, or part thereof, whose primary purpose is to collect solar energy and convert and store it for useful purposes including heating and cooling buildings or other energy saving processes, or to produce generated power by means of any combination of collecting, transferring, or converting solar generated energy.”

“(2) incorporating into the building's design and proposed energy system alternative energy devices for space heating and cooling, water heating, electrical loads, and interior lighting.”

“The land use authority may refuse to approve or renew any plat, subdivision plan, or dedication of any street or other ground, if deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land for the lots or parcels covered by the plat or subdivision prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting reasonably sited and designed solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources from being installed on buildings erected on …”

“Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no municipality, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources. This section shall not apply to patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives, or apartments.”

“B. Certified solar energy equipment, facilities, or devices and certified recycling equipment, facilities, or devices, as defined herein, are hereby declared to be a separate class of property and shall constitute a classification for local taxation separate from other classifications of real or personal property. The governing body of any county, city or town may, by ordinance, exempt or partially exempt such property from local taxation in the manner provided by …”

“(c) Encourage and protect access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems.”

“In order to receive the credit for a solar energy system on residential property, the system must use solar energy to:”

“(6) (a), a political subdivision may enact an ordinance relating to the trimming of vegetation that blocks solar energy, as defined in s. 66.0403 (1) (k), from a collector surface, as defined under s. 700.41 (2) (b), or that blocks wind from a wind energy system. The ordinance may include a designation of responsibility for the costs of the trimming. The ordinance may not require the trimming of vegetation that was planted by the owner or occupant of the property on which …”

“(i) Certify that reasonable efforts have been undertaken to provide notice in writing to all owners of land within one (1) mile of the proposed facility, to the military installation commander or the commander's designee if there are any active federal military missile launch or control facilities within five (5) miles of the proposed facility, to the department of transportation and to all cities and towns located within twenty (20) miles of the facility. Notice shall …”