Could This Be A New Age Of Green Roofing?

After announcing that production would begin this year on his revolutionary new solar panels, Elon Musk broke silence on Twitter that Tesla were preparing to take orders for the tiles in only a matter of months.

 When asked about an arrival date for Tesla’s new solar roof shingles, Musk replied that the company would begin accepting orders in April to align with production of these solar tiles at the end of the year Tesla Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo.

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Tesla To Begin Rolling Out Solar Roofing]

Tesla’s solar roof tiles, courtesy of Musk’s newly acquired renewable energy company SolarCity, are expected to be tougher than regular shingles, but cost less. Tesla has previously revealed plans for four different styles for their solar tiles, but production will begin with just one type. New styles will be added gradually every few months, if all goes according to plan.

Tesla's products may be steering towards a greener future, but Musk is not the only soul with the vision of a healthier tomorrow. France is currently debating the concept of green roofing, which has been a topic of discussion since 2015.

In 2015 the French Government implemented mandates that all new buildings that are built in commercial zones in France must be partially covered in either plants or solar panels, according to CS Globe.

The aim was to follow the green roof initiatives that existed in Germany and Toronto since 2009 and make France a nation of excellence for green and blue development.

However, France's commercial sector pushed back on the legislation, and the move to begin partially covering all rooftops with greenery went from being a sure thing to a deleted proposal.

CS Globe said 564 propositions were examined in 2015, and then sent back with 225 amendments. The green roof policy (Article 36), although popularised, was merely one proposal among hundreds, and along with many others, was ultimately struck down.

The French green roof industry, ADIVET, is reportedly lobbying to revive Article 36, but building owners refuse to bear the additional construction expenses, threatening to simply pass them along onto consumers if the policy is passed, according to CS Globe.

"The proposed green roof policy therefore remains a project at this point."

CS Globe said that if the law does pass, France will pioneer a new frontier of nationwide green roof policy.