Who knew? I didn’t until I started searching through the terrific West Palm Beach Office of Sustainability website and discovered that Homeowners Associations are prohibited by Florida Statute 163.04 — Energy Devices Based on Renewable Resources to prohibit solar panels (as well as rain barrels, clotheslines, etc.) This is very good news for those of us in Sunshine State condo-land where solar energy is an obvious choice. The only surprise is how slow we have been to adopt it and HOA’s rules and regulations may have contributed to the foot-dragging. That could change quickly if enough people want it.
Another plus for solar energy: the recent signing of Florida HB 277 which means that adding solar panels (or other renewable energy systems) to your home will not increase your property taxes. Admittedly, this is not quite as strong an incentive as the Federal tax credit for electric vehicles, but we’ll take it. The law goes into effect July 1, 2013 for installations after January 1, 2013. Nice going, Florida! This cheered me as much as reading that Boulder, CO, has a one-year fracking moratorium.
This year, solar panels, next year, backyard chickens!
Get educated and motivated about solar energy. A few links to prime the pump.
One Block Off the Grid http://1bog.or and http://howsolarworks.1bog.org
Vote Solar Initiative: http://votesolar.org/who-we-are/
Florida Solar Energy Industries Association http://www.flaseia.org .
Woman Aloud 