301 Moved Permanently

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California Bill Preserves
Net Energy Metering

The California Legislature has approved an energy bill that had been the subject of 11th-hour wrangling between solar sector advocates and the state’s major utilities. At issue was an amendment that would have effectively eliminated net energy metering (NEM) as a selling point on future residential and commercial photovoltaic installations. The amended bill preserves NEM for now but essentially punts the details of its implementation to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Gov. Jerry Brown.

According to The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), AB 327 will provide stability for the rooftop solar sector by preserving NEM and removing the ceiling on California’s renewable portfolio standard. The organization says AB 327 is a rare example of California’s investor-owned utilities, the solar sector and ratepayer advocates all supporting the same bill. In addition to TASC, the Vote Solar Initiative and the Solar Energy Industries Association both filed letters in support of the legislation.

The utilities backed the legislation in order to undo a freeze on lower-tiered electricity rates under California’s tiered-rate structure. However, the utilities also backed a late amendment that would eliminate the 5% cap each utility uses to calculate rates under the NEM program - expanding future participation but lowering the value of participation for all. Removing the cap eliminates any guarantees on the rates the customer receives for electricity flowing back into the grid from a solar installation.

The California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA), backed by a loose coalition of solar companies and customers, worked to hash out a compromise with the utilities over the amendment. Front and center were objections that the amendment would not only water down benefits for future solar customers but also overturn benefits existing customers thought were ironclad at the time they signed contracts with their installers.

“I don’t like the precedent of luring customers into the solar market and then changing the deal,” says CALSEIA President Bernadette Del Chiaro. Existing solar customers were reportedly furious at the prospect of the value of their system declining over time. “It puts into statute that deals can change.”

Nevertheless, Del Chiaro gives the compromise a shaky thumbs-up, as it restores some stability to the solar sector. While she says she is pleased the preservation of the 5% cap will allow the NEM program to remain a valuable asset for the solar sector, she is uncomfortable at the notion of the agreement being at the mercy of government decision-makers - even those generally friendly toward solar power. The CPUC and the governor’s office are both widely regarded as strong solar power supporters, and for this reason, Del Chiaro is willing to trust to their good graces.

“I’m willing to punt to the CPUC,” Del Chiaro says. “There will be give-and-take with the utilities, and we’re ready for it.”

As part of the compromise, Del Chiaro says, Gov. Brown will write a signing statement underscoring the state’s commitment to solar power. The statement gives installers a piece of paper to show potential customers to give them peace of mind that their investments in their solar installations are secure.

Del Chiaro points out that while a letter is nice, hard numbers are better. Until the governor and the CPUC take up “net metering 2.0,” it is anybody’s guess as to what those numbers will be. - Michael Puttré

 

End Of CSI Incentives
An Acid Test For Solar

When the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued its annual report on the progress of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) in July, it said the program had reached 66% of its stated goal with 1.629 GW of installed solar capacity at 167,878 customer sites. At CSI’s outset in 2006, the CPUC established a goal to install 1.75 GW of PV power systems in 10 years, with another 190 MW for low-income residential and affordable housing. With achievement comes recognition that the CSI has passed its zenith and is sinking inexorably toward its Western horizon.

A new report from the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CSSE), which administers the CSI program for the CPUC in the San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) service territory, seeks to lay out how the solar sector moves forward once the money - over $1.7 billion to date - runs out. Without further funding, the residential portion of the CSI is finished for SDG&E, as well as for Pacific Gas & Electric’s service territory in central and northern California, the report says, while Southern California Edison still has funding to provide some residential rebates.

The report highlights the importance of distributed solar power generation CSI has enabled over and above its financial implications. Moreover, it sets forth a framework for policies and regulatory oversight to help the solar sector continue its growth.

The CCSE report concludes that a statewide program to promote distributed solar energy generation is the most efficient way to deliver services to customers and the solar sector after the CSI program ends. Acknowledging that direct incentives to the general market are likely to soon vanish, the report asserts that the solar market will require some level of funding and centralized administration if it is to maintain stable growth. Sources for this funding may include taxpayer funds, ratepayer funds, greenhouse gas auction revenues or, perhaps, service fees.

 

Xcel Proposes 170 MW Of New Solar Capacity

Colorado utility Xcel Energy is proposing to add new solar and wind energy resources to meet the state’s future electricity needs, according to a report filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Xcel Energy’s recommendations include 170 MW of new utility-scale solar power, 450 MW of new wind power and 317 MW of natural gas generation that it says would provide operational flexibility the utility needs to reliably integrate renewable resources into its electric supply mix.

The utility’s announcement is in addition to the 42.5 MW of on-site solar that it has proposed through separate proceedings with the PUC, under the 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan. That proposal recently was sent to an administrative law judge with the PUC for further regulatory action.

Xcel Energy has been under intense criticism from solar sector advocates as its recent proposals filed with the PUC also include a request to re-evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the state’s net energy metering (NEM) policies. The utility maintains that some costs of NEM are unfairly shouldered by non-solar ratepayers. According to a new study from the Vote Solar Initiative, distributed solar energy systems currently in Xcel Energy’s service area deliver as much as $11 million in annual benefits to Colorado ratepayers. The findings were submitted to the PUC in opposition to the utility’s study.

Details of the Xcel Energy proposal include the following:

• The addition of 170 MW of utility-scale solar generation would use single-axis tracking to maximize solar generation during the day. The company currently has about 80 MW of utility-scale solar and 160 MW of customer-sited solar generation;
• The addition of 450 MW of wind generation is an adjustment from the 550 MW the company initially recommended early this summer after its early wind request for proposal. This additional wind would bring the installed capacity on the company’s system in Colorado to 2.65 GW; and
• The proposed 317 MW of natural gas-fired generation would come from existing Colorado power plants that previously supplied Xcel Energy but would do so going forward at reduced prices. The company says this “flexible generation” allows it to start, bring up and turn down generation online in relatively short periods of time as wind and solar generation vary throughout the day.

Xcel Energy’s proposal must be reviewed by an independent evaluator for the PUC and ultimately considered by the commission, which is scheduled to approve the plan as filed or make amendments to the proposal by Dec. 9.

 

LIPA Gets Funding For
Solar Pioneer Program

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) says it will provide the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) with $5 million to restart its popular residential Solar Pioneer program, which had been put on hold as of Labor Day weekend. NYSERDA is providing the funding through proceeds from its Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction.

Citing declining costs, strong demand for solar power installations and an increasing number of solar contractors in the region, LIPA has readjusted the Solar Pioneer program’s rebate structure several times over the past year, including as recently as Aug. 1, to handle the increase in customer demand. However, LIPA suspended the program due to continued high market demand and budget constraints.

 

New Round Of Incentives Opens In Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) say the second round of this year’s Solarize Mass program is now accepting applications from cities and towns interested in participating. The program - designed to increase the adoption of solar energy and further reduce the overall cost of solar power - offers residents and businesses discounted pricing for solar.

The program is open to all Massachusetts communities, including those designated by DOER as Green Communities - a designation DOER bestows on cities and towns that meet five clean energy requirements, including a commitment to reduce their energy use by 20%. By statute, municipalities must adopt “as-of-right” siting and expedited permitting for renewable energy projects in order to receive the designation.

In the first two years of the Solarize Mass program, 21 cities and towns participated in the program, contracting more than 900 solar electricity systems with more than 5.5 MW of total capacity. S