Good news for those nature protectors who want to make their homes more ecological. Several states are beginning to promote renewable energy by passing laws that allow homeowners to overcome local opposition to use solar panels and wind turbines on their houses.

Since 2005, eight states have passed laws to abolish the rules imposed by some homeowners associations and local agencies on residents who wanted to make use of the sun’s and wind’s energy in producing power. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signed such a bill two weeks ago. Virginia and Florida are next in line.

According to USA Today, states like Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina have already passed laws which make it easier for homeowners to install home solar panels or wind turbines, or both. Florida, Illinois, Minnesota and Virginia are still considering these laws.

Matt Burdick, a homeowner from Arizona, finally got the approval, after the law was enacted, to heat his swimming pool with the help of solar panels.

Arizona gets more than 300 days of sun a year, “so it makes good sense to try to make use of that,” Burdick said, according to USA Today.

Renewable-energy experts say that requests for homegrown renewable energy are on the rise as this would mean a cut in Americans’ utility bills. The biggest opposition comes mostly from local authorities who stand in the way by refusing to release the necessary permits, or by requesting high permit fees that homeowners can’t afford.

In response, some states enacted laws designed to protect homeowners from restrictive neighborhood associations and local regulators. California, for example, has a “solar rights” law that took effect in 2005 and bans cities and counties from restricting on-home solar power.

About 250,000 of the 100-million-plus U.S. homes have solar panels for electricity or water heating, the Solar Energy Industries Association estimated, and US is the fourth on the list of nations that have installed the most solar-power technology, coming after Germany, Japan and Spain.