Following a ban on natural gas fuel in new single-family homes, detached ADUs and low-rise multifamily buildings that went into effect in January, the San Jose City Council is expected to approve a proposal to prohibit natural gas in new commercial and high-rise buildings, set to take effect in August 2021. If the proposal is approved, San Jose would become the largest U.S. city to ban natural gas in new construction at this scale.
The ordinance is also expected to assist the city in reaching its ambitious climate goals, including to ensure all new residential buildings by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030 are zero net energy, meaning that the amount of energy used by the building is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on-site.
…San Jose’s ordinance expansion would not affect existing homes or commercial buildings. It also would exempt hospitals, new dwelling units attached to an existing home and facilities with a distributed energy source — or electrical generation and storage performed on-site through a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices.
