LA Times: California pushes a new plan to cut rooftop solar incentives

BY SAMMY ROTH

California is poised to reduce payments to homes and businesses that go solar for clean electricity they supply to the power grid — a landmark shift in how the state promotes a crucial technology for fighting climate change.

The Public Utilities Commission’s proposal would keep the payment rates higher — at least for a few years — than a previous plan that faced sharp criticism from the solar industry and climate activists.

But it could still have dramatic ripple effects in the burgeoning rooftop solar market as the Golden State struggles to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels while avoiding blackouts and keeping electricity bills from spiraling out of control.

PV Magazine: It’s time to combat utility opposition to solar

As part of Aurora Solar’s Empower 2022 online solar summit, Bernadette Del Chiaro, from the California Solar & Storage Association, will moderate a talk about electric utilities and how they have abused their monopoly position to discriminate against solar in the U.S. Here, she gives pv magazine a taste of the presentation.

OCTOBER 27, 2022 By BERNADETTE DEL CHIARO

Getting Solar Panels at Home Just Got Easier in SLO

With the help of SolarAPP+, permit applicants can get an automated permit, meaning no waiting in line at the permit counter!

Residential homeowners and solar panel installation contractors in the City of San Luis Obispo are now able to apply for permits online with the help of SolarAPP+, a web-based portal for residential solar energy system installations, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to automate project plan reviews, receive an automated permit, pay fees online, and schedule inspections. 

SolarAPP+ will lower costs and expedite solar installations, encouraging property owners to invest in generating renewable and sustainable energy. Lowering the cost and increasing the speed of rooftop solar installation will have a significant impact on a system’s cost.

Despite similar wages and equipment costs, the installation of solar panels currently costs twice as much in the United States as in countries such as Australia or Germany. For a solar customer, these added expenses can amount to as much as $5,000 for a typical residential solar system. The discrepancy is partially brought on by setup expenses, such as interest on home equity loans, and other expenses incurred while waiting for applications to be approved.

Community Development’s plan to make solar more affordable  will start with the implementation of SolarAPP+. Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Energy, SolarAPP+ provides a web-based portal that streamlines and automates permit reviews. The app easily integrates into existing local government permitting software and is free for local jurisdictions.

The number of SolarAPP+ adopters is projected to expand in the coming year following the California state budget, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 13, including $20 million for technical assistance targeted for local jurisdictions planning to adopt expedited permitting software such as SolarAPP+. Thanks to this plan, the City is receiving up to $40,000 to integrate the use of SolarAPP+ reviews with current permitting software. Building and Safety staff have been piloting the process with select contractors since August 5th, and after a successful trial period, the City is now encouraging all applicants with eligible projects to use the SolarAPP+ review process.

This new system is aligned with the City’s Climate Action goals and will help us get closer to achieving our bold commitment to community carbon neutrality by 2035.

For more information, visit Solar Information | City of San Luis Obispo, CA (slocity.org)

Thompson, Levin Lead Letter Urging CPUC Not to Undermine Solar Incentives in Updated Net Energy Metering Proposal

Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) led a Congressional letter with Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) and 14 other colleagues urging the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) not to use the solar and renewable energy storage policies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as justification for cutting solar incentives in the forthcoming Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0) proposal. With the CPUC expected to issue an updated NEM 3.0 proposal by the end of September, the letter calls on the Commission to develop policies that will help increase the deployment of the rooftop solar and residential storage rather than stifle their viability.

“We write to share our concerns about the potential imposition of any discriminatory fees or drastic and immediate export rate reductions on rooftop solar and storage customers in the net energy metering (NEM) 3.0 proceeding, as such provisions would undermine the goals and intent of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Thompson and his colleagues wrote. “We fought hard to secure robust clean energy incentives in the IRA in order to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in California and across the United States. Multiple independent analyses have found that these incentives will reduce emissions by approximately 40% by 2030 – but those analyses assume the continuation of supportive state policies.”

See below or click here for the full letter:

The Honorable Alice Busching Reynolds
President, California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102

Dear President Reynolds:

We write to share our concerns about the potential imposition of any discriminatory fees or drastic and immediate export rate reductions on rooftop solar and storage customers in the net energy metering (NEM) 3.0 proceeding, as such provisions would undermine the goals and intent of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We fought hard to secure robust clean energy incentives in the IRA in order to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in California and across the United States. Multiple independent analyses have found that these incentives will reduce emissions by approximately 40% by 2030 – but those analyses assume the continuation of supportive state policies.

The IRA contains a range of initiatives designed to complement state clean energy programs and benefit individual energy consumers, including provisions that target benefits to environmental justice and low-income communities. The extensions of the 30% Section 48 Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and 30% Section 25D tax credit are intended to make solar and storage more affordable for consumers and more cost-competitive with conventional fossil fuel generation. Individual adoption of solar and storage must accelerate for the IRA to achieve its climate goals.

It is concerning to see entities arguing that the IRA’s passage warrants weakening state-level solar and storage policies, as is happening now in the NEM 3.0 proceeding (R.20-08-020). These proposals would effectively make rooftop solar and storage more expensive for our constituents and would slow its deployment – the exact opposite of our impetus to expand and extend solar and storage incentives in the IRA. As you are aware, independent analysis estimated that the CPUC’s December 2021 Proposed Decision would have cut California’s residential solar market in half by 2024.[1]

A March 2021 report from the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, and CPUC found that residential solar capacity will need to more than triple by 2045 in order for California to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2045.[2]

We respectfully urge the CPUC not to use the IRA’s provisions aimed at increasing deployment of rooftop solar and storage as perverse justification to impose discriminatory fees on these assets. Instead, we hope that you will consider supporting reasonable reforms that build on the IRA and ensure the solar and storage industries are poised to play an expanded role in meeting our climate and energy resilience goals.

Sincerely,

Reps. Mike Thompson, Mike Levin, Katie Porter, Jimmy Panetta, Karen Bass, Jared Huffman, Ted Lieu, Ro Khanna, Mark DeSaulnier, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Doris Matsui, Brad Sherman, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, Alan Lowenthal, and Barbara Lee.