As many of you may (or perhaps may not) know, I have the distinct honor of serving as the current Chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee (PA- LAC). While this issue of Community Assets is chock full of good information about the of current work of PA LAC and the legislation that impacts community associations in Pennsylvania, I was recently thinking about possible “forward-looking” community association legislation in Pennsylvania, and two things immediately came to mind: Solar Panels and Electric Vehicles (EVs).
Solar Panels Let’s be clear, solar panel legislation which would impact community associations under Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes has previously been introduced in Pennsylvania multiple times: Senate Bill 1039 – Residential Rights to Solar Energy (2017-2018 Session); Senate Bill 436 – Removing Obstacles to Residential Rights to Solar Energy (2019-2020 Session); and Senate Bill 826 – Ensuring All Residential Homeowners have Access to Solar Energy (2021-2022 Session). The common theme exhibited in the first two Senate Bills is that associations would not be permitted to prohibit or restrict the installation or use of a solar energy system on a detached unit. The Senate Bill that has been
introduced in the current Session, Senate Bill 826, takes it one step further and provides that associations would not be permitted to prohibit or restrict the installation or use of a solar energy system on a detached roof or a townhouse unit (with language that the repair of the roof of a townhouse unit is designated as the responsibility of the owner of the unit and not the responsibility of the association).
Thus, all of the Senate Bills that were previously introduced focused on preventing associations from prohibiting or restricting the installation or use of a solar energy system on units in the association. This leads me to wonder, if solar is the future, why are legislators focusing on preventing associations from acting in some way? The simple answer is likely one we don’t want to hear: because most associations do not want solar in the community and/or do not want to deal with solar issues in any way. I get it, change is hard. But let’s think about this – technology, including solar, keeps evolving and at some point, we won’t be able to avoid dealing with it. The end result will likely be that legislation will be introduced – and become law – which will essentially force all associations to allow solar, whether we like it or not.
So my question is: shouldn’t we be in front of this issue, rather than always behind it? I believe the
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answer is yes, because, in the not too distant future, solar technology will evolve to a point where it will become economically beneficial for all unit owners to install solar panels. Developers will offer options to install solar panels on new construction units with increasing frequency. Unit owners are installing solar panels to charge their electric vehicles (see next discussion point, below). Associations should therefore really begin to reconsider how we look at solar.
Yes, board members and managers, I already know some of your concerns: (1) the aesthetics of solar panel installation; (2) maintenance and installation issues; (3) the impact on or through common areas, especially if only one unit owner would be benefitting from solar installation; (4) potential damage to common or shared roof structures or attached units, especially if only one unit owner would be benefitting from solar installation; (5) insurance issues; (6) liability and indemnity concerns; and (7) will it cost the association anything, either short or long- term? While these are valid concerns, we can come up with solutions to all of these issues if we proactively seek to do so.
Let’s change our way of thinking and be ahead of the curve on solar energy legislation in Pennsylvania’s community associations. If we don’t, we will be left in the dark –
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