*By Alisha Haridasani*
California, the state most aggressively pursuing clean energy policies, became the first in the country to require almost all new homes have solar panels.
The new rule, adopted by the California Energy Commission on Wednesday, will apply to all residential buildings up to three stories tall built after January 1, 2020.
This change in the building code is expected to add around [$10,000](http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2019standards/documents/2018_Title_24_2019_Residential_Standards.pdf) to the cost of a new home. But the commission [estimated](http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2018_releases/2018-05-09_building_standards_adopted_nr.html) the panels could save home owners around $80 a month on utility bills, and will slash greenhouse gas emissions “by an amount equivalent to taking 115,000 fossil fuel cars off the road.”
The requirement is part of California’s push to get half the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The state already relies on renewables for around 25 percent of its electricity, and it is expected to rise to around 33 percent by 2020.
The California Building Standards Commission must formally adopt the rule, which it is expected to do, said Mark Kaufman, Mashable’s science reporter. “California is really keen on solar, just like Texas is really keen on wind,” Kaufman said.
Shares of solar companies, such as SunRun and First Solar, rallied on Thursday.
Aerospace startup Atomos Space, which is developing a series of orbital transfer vehicles to help reposition satellites in space, recently closed on a $16 million financing round. CEO Vanessa Clark and COO William Kowalski joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's operations ahead of its launch.
The legacy automaker Ford says its keeping sustainability in mind in its return to the F1 racing circuit and its future EV plans following a turbulent quarter.
The Justice Department has been scrutinizing a controversial artificial intelligence tool used by a Pittsburgh-area child protective services agency following concerns that the tool could lead to discrimination against families with disabilities, The Associated Press has learned.
The U.S. Treasury Department has changed the standard for what kind of electric vehicles qualify for a federal tax benefit under the Inflation Reduction Act.
