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Solar experts say proposal could devastate industry Mark Olalde
Palm Springs Desert Sun USA TODAY NETWORK
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – While a regulatory battle over energy policy rages in Washington, D.C., the solar industry is raising alarms that the outcome has the potential to cripple rooftop solar around the country. A secretive, New Hampshire-based nonprofi t called the New England Ratepayers Association petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April to reevaluate the core tenets of net metering, a billing method that’s foundational to rooftop solar. While NERA argues the policy that many states have adopted unfairly benefi ts people who can aff ord solar panels, the solar industry claims NERA is simply hell-bent on wiping out competition to utilities. “It feels very simple to me. This is just a complete, existential attack on solar,” said Dave Rosenfeld, executive director of the Solar Rights Alliance, which advocates for solar users in
California. “And in just one fell swoop, it would devastate solar.” For years, FERC has maintained that states have jurisdiction over net metering and that it would not take control. In its petition, NERA is asking the federal agency to do just that.
How net metering works Here’s how net metering works. If you have solar panels installed on your house, you likely use less electricity during the day than the panels generate. Those excess electrons are pushed onto the grid, and you receive a credit that counts against your bill for the power you’ll need to purchase from the local utility at other times, like at night, during cloudy days or during hours of peak demand. The policy is a big reason why California celebrated hitting 1 million homes with solar panels last year. But if the predetermined value of that elecSee SOLAR, Page 3H
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