Thoughts on Solar

Short and sweet: We need you to call Governor Newsom on June 21st!

Here’s the message from our friends at CALSSA:

1. Call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.Do not call earlier or later as you likely will not be able to get through. If for some reason you are unable to leave either a recorded message or a message with a live person and it is between 9 and 5, simply keep calling again until you do! 
   
   
2. The number to call is 916-445-2841. After you dial, a recording will ask you to press 1 to continue in English or 2 for Spanish. After you press the appropriate number, you will then need to press “6″ to speak to a representative.
   
   
3. The phone may ring many times, but eventually you shouldreach a representative for the Governor. When you do, simply deliver your message (sample script below). If no one picks up, you may be instructed to record a message, which is also totally fine.
   
   

   Sample script: “My name is __, I live in ___ and I [own a solar system/work in the solar industry]. I am opposed to a solar tax of any kind, and any other change that makes solar less affordable for working and middle class people. California should make rooftop solar more affordable for everyday people, not less. I expect Governor Newsom to take a clear public stance on this matter and show the leadership that this state deserves. Thank you.” [Feel free to use your own words!] 
   



4. After you are done speaking with someone or recording a message, please go here to let us know what happened. This is very important as we’re keeping tabs on how many phone calls we’ve generated.
   
   
5. Finally, after you have reported back to us on your call, make sure to email your colleagues or share on social media what you’ve done and ask them to do the same! There’s template language you can use below.

Thanks for your help - together we are going to win this thing!

While we wait, and wait, and wait some more for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to publish a new Proposed Decision for Net Energy Metering 3.0, the silence from Governor Newsom has been deafening.  And then, out of nowhere, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have done to the Florida solar industry what the CPUC tried to do here.  What am I missing?

The Sunshine State of Florida has a comparatively tiny solar market next to that of California - California has more than 1,400,000 rooftop solar installs compared to Florida’s 118,000, and the industry employs over 68,000 people in California versus only 11,000 in Florida, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) as of Q42021.  So you would think that California’s Governor - who is up for re-election this year - would get off the sidelines and into the game.  Yet all he has said publicly when asked about the original, disastrous, Proposed Decision, “We still have some work to do."  Yah think?

Meanwhile, far to Newsom’s right, DeSantis just vetoed a bill in Florida that would have gutted the rooftop solar industry there.  Amazing.

So what doesn’t Newsom get?  After all, every one of the Commissioners at the CPUC were appointed by Newsome.  Public comments from him would go a long way toward moving the CPUC to do the right thing.  And in an election year, his silence is frankly bad politics.  Rooftop solar consistently polls very well, particularly when compared to say, PG&E or SCE!

The California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA) - which has been leading the fight against the CPUC’s efforts to kill the rooftop solar industry - put out a comment from Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro on the veto from DeSantis, linking it to the NEM 3.0 controversy:

Governor DeSantis did not fall for the utilities’ playbook of protecting their profits and monopolies by eliminating competition from rooftop solar. Governor Newsom’s administration should not fall for it either. When it comes to keeping solar affordable, growing, and contributing to our clean energy future, California should be not only keeping pace with Florida, but leading the world.

As usual, Bernadette is spot on.

Our response has got to be to keep the pressure on Newsom to do the right thing.  One way to do that is to call his office and tell him that!

It’s super easy - just mash that button below. Do it now! Tell your friends to do it. Let’s make so much noise that Newsom will finally get it!

Watch this space…

UPDATE: Bloomberg News makes it official - CPUC is delaying a vote on NEM 3.0 to allow more time to consider changes. Read their piece here - and check out that great sign front-and-center!

We have been reporting on the struggle with the CPUC’s Proposed Decision on Net Energy Metering 3.0 which, in its present form, would decimate the solar industry in the territory of the state’s three Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E.  Originally the PD was supposed to be voted on during the CPUC’s January 27^th meeting, but that was quietly taken off-calendar.  Not so quiet was our response, as 325 of us spoke out against the PD (compared to only 4 who spoke in support) during the longest public comment period ever at the Commission. (You can read my prepared remarks here.)

That meant that the soonest the PD could be voted on was February 10^th - but when the Agenda for the meeting was released, the PD was nowhere to be found!  Again, with nothing being said officially from the CPUC.

Then, just today, over on investing site Seeking Alpha, came this tantalizing tidbit:

California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds reportedly has asked for more time to review and consider revisions to a proposal that would cut incentives for residential rooftop solar systems in the state.

No idea where that “report” comes from, as we haven’t been able to find any news stories on point.  Keep in mind that our marathon public comment period at the last meeting was only Reynolds’s second meeting as President of the CPUC - previously she was working for Governor Newsom.

Even without a clue as to what revisions Reynolds might be considering, the delay itself is a benefit as it gives potential solar clients more time to pull the trigger and get in under the existing NEM rules - which will certainly be better than the new rules, regardless of what revisions might come down the pike.

In any event, our collective outcry has clearly been heard, but we will need to keep the pressure on, and I’ve got just the means to do that - Call Governor Newsom!  Our friends at CALSSA have made it super easy to do just that.  Just mash that button below, and that will take you to the CALSSA Call Newsom website that will hook you up.  It’s fast, simple, and effective.  So don’t delay, mash away!  And watch this space!

TL;DR - We need your help to preserve net metering - Sign the Petition!

Run on Sun has been installing grid-tied solar power system since 2007, and one constant in all of that time has been the hostility towards such systems evinced by the Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs): SCE, PG&E and SDG&E. Nowhere is that hostility on clearer display than it has been in their efforts to erode, if not eliminate altogether, net metering.  But now, with the IOUs lobbying for the creation of Net Metering 3.0, the battle for the survival of net metering is about to be joined in earnest.  If your right to put solar on your home or business is to be preserved, we are going to need all of you to join the fight.  Here’s our take…

What is Net Metering?

Net Energy Metering (NEM) or just net metering for short, is the basis by which a solar system provides the owner with a significant portion of their financial benefit.  Solar systems on a clear, sunny day produce energy that follows a normal distribution, with the peak energy production occurring around solar noon, and rolling off in a typical “bell curve” on either side.  That energy saves the system owner money twice: first, by directly offsetting the energy usage of the home or business, but secondly, by allowing the excess energy to be exported back to the grid for retail credit.  That retail credit is then applied against energy imported from the grid to power loads at night or on cloudy days.  At the end of the billing cycle, those two values - the amount of energy imported versus the amount of energy exported - are “netted” out, and if the amount imported is greater than what was exported, the difference is charged to the customer.  Conversely, if more energy is exported than imported, the customer has a credit for that period that can be carried forward.

Of course, the energy exported to the grid for which the net metering customer gets credit doesn’t disappear - the utility sells it to another customer for that full retail value.  Moreover, because that energy did not have to be transported from far-off generation facilities, there is less demand to build expensive infrastructure like high-voltage transmission lines - you know, like the lines that have sparked deadly wildfires in the past few years.

So you might think that net metering would be a win-win for everyone - solar clients get a greater financial incentive to foot the bill for installing energy generation systems and the utility gets additional energy without incurring the costs of building or maintaining them.  But you would be wrong.  You see, IOUs don’t make money selling energy.  They make money building things.  In fact, in a stunningly perverse incentive structure, the IOUs get a guaranteed return on investment of 10% for every dollar they spend building stuff: generation plants, transmission lines, etc.  So they see the growth of solar, particularly rooftop solar, as a threat to their antiquated business model, and the best tool at their disposal is to take as big a bite out of net metering as possible.

Where are We Today and Where are the IOUs Trying to Go?

The version of net metering described above actually no longer exists with the IOUs, instead, they transitioned to NEM 2.0 a few years ago.  (Municipal utilities, like PWP, still offer full net metering.)  Under that scheme, a one-time interconnection charge was created, along with what are known as Nonbypassable Charges, which require their customer to pay a relatively small amount for every kilowatt hour of energy imported, even if that energy is actually offset by exported production.  The real kicker was that all solar customers in IOU territory were switched to Time-of-Use rates that made the value of exported solar lower, and energy imported from 4-9 significantly more expensive.

But now, heading into NEM 3.0, the IOUs are going all in!  A recent report by the consulting firm E3 was released by the CPUC and it highlights some options for changing net metering that would seriously impact the value of solar.  In particular, the report proposes fixed monthly charges of between $50 and $70 for all solar customers, combined with a “grid access charge” each month of between $5-$7/kW installed!  That means that under the best case scenario of their proposals, a residential customer with a 4 kW solar system installed would pay an extra $70 per month, every month, just because they have solar - that they paid for - on their home!  That is an $840/year penalty for going green! 

If that doesn’t make you see red, nothing will!

We’re Not Gonna Take It!

To say that the California solar industry is in the fight of its life is an understatement.  But so are all solar customers, who could see the value of their investment greatly eroded by these misguided policy proposals.  And that is where you come in.  We are fighting back and we need you in the fight!  The California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA - our trade association) and the Solar Rights Alliance are gearing up to organize against the threat.  The first step is in signing a petition to Governor Newsom - we need him as an ally now.  It is super easy to sign on and we are looking to collect 20,000 signatures before April 1.  As of this writing, we are at 923 supporters, so we have a long way to go - and that starts with you!  (We will have more news on ways to fight back in the coming weeks, so watch this space.) 

Please click the big button below and let’s get this done!