Thoughts on Solar

Continuing our series on the recently promulgated Solar Bill of Rights, here are some thoughts on Rights 2 & 3.  Here they are:

2.      Americans have the right to connect their solar energy system to the grid with uniform national standards.

3.      Americans have the right to Net Meter and be compensated at the very least with full retail electricity rates.

The good news is that at least here in California, #2 has already been secured.  All of the utilities in our service area (the greater Los Angeles region) allow grid-tied systems to be connected to the grid with a minimum amount of hassle and red-tape.

The news is not quite so good for Right #3.  Under existing California law, there is a cap on the number of net metering agreements that utilities are obligated to offer - presently at 2.5% of the utilities peak load.  Such a cap makes no sense, and could work to seriously limit the growth of solar in California.  Fortunately, there is legislation in the works, authored by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner (D-AD14) that would raise the cap to 5%.   Skinner’s bill, AB560, will be reintroduced next year.

Finally, we made real progress on the fair compensation portion of Right #3 with the signing into law of AB920.  For the first time, solar customers in California will no longer be “donating” their surplus energy to their utility.  Instead, utilities must pay solar customers who are net energy producers using the same rate structure by which that customer would normally be billed.

What do you think about these rights?  Please add your comments, below.