In a vote decided 4-1 in favor, the South Miami city commission has approved legislation to make all new homes built in the city to have solar panels. The commission also stated that any properties whose size were to increase by 75 percent or more would need to add solar panels as well. Critics of the mandate have claimed the cost of installing solar panels on new and renovated homes would make it harder to develop affordable housing in South Miami. In addition to South Miami, only San Francisco and two other California cities mandate solar panels on new homes.
