November 8, 2024
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004
Today, along with Councilmembers Frumin, Lewis George, Nadeau, and Robert White, I am
introducing the “Solar Shade Expansion Amendment Act of 2024”.
The summer of 2024 was one of the hottest seasons recorded since 1880, narrowly beating heat
records set just a year earlier in 2023.1 The scientific evidence has made it abundantly clear that
human activity is the most significant driver of the changes in climate we are experiencing locally
and around the world. Burning fossil fuels – such as coal, oil, and gas – emits greenhouse gasses
that amplify the Earth’s natural greenhouse effect, warming the planet at a dangerous rate. In
addition to their impact on climate, the burning of fossil fuels also has deleterious effects on
human health, as well as air and water quality.
For its part, the District has planned to transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean,
renewable sources of energy. For example, the District's Renewable Portfolio Standard requires
that 100% of the electricity sold in the city be from renewable sources by 2032 – 5.5% of which
must be solar energy. But there is a pressing need to both accelerate our progress towards that
goal while also alleviating the impact of extreme weather – especially on our most vulnerable
populations, including children.
Solar canopies are a promising tool that can both help mitigate the human impacts on climate
while also providing relief from rising temperatures. Solar canopies are structures that elevate
solar panels above the ground, generating solar energy while providing shade. Solar canopies
help maximize use of limited space in the District for solar panel installations. Solar canopies have
1
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Finds Summer 2024 Hottest to Date (September 11, 2024),
https://www.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-finds-summer-2024-hottest-to-date/.
already been mounted over parking decks2 and school playgrounds3 in the District. In other
countries, like South Korea, for example, solar canopies have also been installed to provide shade
over bike lanes.4
This legislation would require that the District government identify 20 sites, ranging from
playgrounds and parks to sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads, that could benefit from solar canopies.
The goals are to provide shade, reduce heat exposure, and provide clean energy to our power
grid all at once. The bill then requires funding in the District’s Capital Improvements Plan for five
capital projects to include solar shade as soon as the FY27 budget and all projects beginning in
FY28. It also permits the Department of Energy and Environment to issue grants to private
entities in pursuit of solar shade projects.
Sincerely,
Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6
Chairperson, Committee on Transportation & the Environment
2
Innovation District, D.C. leaders unveil city’s largest solar canopy at Children’s National Research & Innovation
Campus (April 27, 2021), https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/dc-leaders-unveil-citys-largest-solar-
canopy-at-research-innovation-campus/.
3
https://www.ludlowtaylor.org/spaces/
4
Hakyung Kate Lee, Solar panel bike lane generates eco-friendly energy in South Korea, ABC NEWS (September 25,
2022), https://abcnews.go.com/International/solar-panel-bike-lane-generates-eco-friendly-
energy/story?id=90197800.
 1 _______________________________ _______________________________
2 Councilmember Matthew Frumin Councilmember Charles Allen
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4
5
6 ___________________________ ______________________________
7 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
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9
10
11 _____________________________
12 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
13
14
15 A BILL
16
17 ________
18
19
20 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
21
22 _________________________
23
24
25 To amend the Clean and Affordable Energy Amendment Act of 2008 to require that the
26 Department of Energy and the Environment publish a feasibility study regarding the
27 installation of solar canopies in the District, to require that the District’s capital
28 improvement plan include funding for the installation of solar canopies, to authorize the
29 Department of the Energy and the Environment to issue grants to support the installation
30 of solar canopies, to require that the Department of Energy and the Environment update
31 the original study, and to require that new capital projects included in the capital
32 improvement plan for which the installation of solar canopies is possible shall provide for
33 the installation of solar canopies on some portion or portions of the capital project’s
34 footprint.
35
36 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
37 act may be cited as the “Solar Shade Expansion Amendment Act of 2024”.
38 Sec. 2. The Clean and Affordable Energy Amendment Act of 2008, effective October 22,
39 2008, (D.C. Law 17-250; D.C. Official Code § 8–1773.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new
40 section 218 to read as follows:
41 “Sec. 218. Solar canopy feasibility study; capital funding requirements and grantmaking
42 authority; updated study.
43 “(a)(1) By January 1, 2026, DOEE shall conduct and publish a study analyzing the
44 feasibility of installing solar canopies to expand solar energy generation while providing shade in
45 at least 20 locations in the District, including at least 5 of each of the following:
46 “(A) Buildings or land owned by the District, such as recreation centers,
47 parks, pools, playgrounds, parking lots, and parking decks, selected after consultation with the
48 Department of General Services and the Department of Parks and Recreation;
49 “(B) District roadways, sidewalks, bike lanes, and cycletracks, selected
50 after consultation with the District Department of Transportation; and
51 “(C) Private property, such as parking decks, surface parking lots, and
52 common areas in commercial buildings and residential buildings, selected after consultation with
53 the Department of Buildings.
54 “(2) The study shall:
55 “(A) Compare, between various locations in the District, the:
56 “(i) Potential to generate solar energy;
57 “(ii) Desirability or benefits of providing shade;
58 “(iii) Costs of installing solar canopies; and
59 “(iv) Difficulty of installing solar canopies, including any legal or
60 administrative barriers unrelated to cost;
61 “(B) Recommend settings, based on the factors described in subparagraph
62 (A) of this paragraph, where the installation of solar canopies should be prioritized; and
63 “(C) Identify at least 5 specific locations in the District where the
64 installation of at least 500 square feet of solar canopies can feasibly be installed during Fiscal Year
65 2027.
66 “(b) Beginning January 1, 2027:
67 “(1) The multiyear capital improvement plan proposed by the Mayor in the annual
68 budget pursuant to § 47–339.01(a) shall, for any project encompassing any of the locations
69 identified in subsection (a)(1) of this section, include funding sufficient to support the installation
70 of solar canopies; and
71 “(2) DOEE may issue grants to private entities to support the installation of solar
72 canopies on private property in settings recommended by the study as described in subsection
73 (a)(1)(C).
74 “(c)(1) No later than September 30, 2028, DOEE shall publish an updated study analyzing
75 the outcomes of any solar canopies installed at locations identified in the original study.
76 “(2) The updated study conducted pursuant to this subsection shall:
77 “(A) Update the comparison of factors described in subsection (a)(2)(A) of
78 this section;
79 “(B) Identify locations, based on the updated comparison described in
80 subparagraph (A), where the District should require the installation of other solar canopies in
81 public and private settings;
82 “(C) Recommend financial incentives, including grants and tax exemptions,
83 to facilitate the installation of solar canopies; and
84 “(D) Describe any regulatory, administrative, or legislative changes that
85 would expedite or facilitate the installation of solar canopies across the District.
86 “(d) Beginning January 1, 2030, every new capital project included in the capital
87 improvement plan for which the installation of solar canopies is possible shall provide for the
88 installation of solar canopies on some portion or portions of the capital project’s footprint.”.
89 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
90 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact
91 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
92 October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
93 Sec. 4. Effective date.
94 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
95 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as
96 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24,
97 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
98 Columbia Register.