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California To Make Decision On Rooftop Solar Policy

Michael Mazengarb
/
http://bit.ly/1PKK2mI

Regulations that helped cultivate a boom in rooftop solar are expected to be revised Thursday, likely shrinking the financial incentives that fueled an industry.

But experts closely watching the industry don’t expect the California Public Utilities Commission to follow recent moves in Nevada. SolarCity Corp. and Sunrun Inc., two industry leaders, laid off hundreds of workers and closed up shop in the Silver State, arguing that rule changes tipped the scales heavily towards utilities, turning solar systems from a financial asset for homeowners into a burden.

You’ve all heard the stories. Homeowner Joe Twelvepack triumphantly watching his electricity meter run backwards as excess power produced by his rooftop system roll back into the national grid and utility cash into his pockets.

The proposal, which could still be revised, requires solar array owners to pay connection fees, enroll in new variable rate plans and to pay certain fees and charges paid by other utility customers. Utilities would also be rewarded with a new mandatory monthly minimum charge.

Watchdog group TURN said the proposal does financially reward utilities, but not outrageously so. Mindy Spatt, the organization’s spokeswoman, said that while it opposes the new minimum charge for dis-incentivizing conservation, the proposal is relatively fair and should keep residential solar power financially viable.

That should be music to the ears of Tim Hamor, co-owner of Chico-based Alternative Energy Systems, a rooftop solar installer serving the Sacramento Valley. Hamor said that if a proposal developed by the utilities were enacted, the break-even point for residential systems would be closer to nine to 11 years than the current six to seven. A change like that would wipe the shine off of solar for some homeowners, potentially upending at least one segment of the burgeoning solar energy industry.

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