California is where solar advocates go for good news. So the latest headlines came as a bit of a shock:
California Rocks Solar Industry With Rollback Plan on Incentives But solar fans should take a breath: The news isn’t so bad. The California Public Utilities Commission released proposed reforms to the state’s net-metering standards. Net-metering is a subsidy for rooftop solar systems whereby homeowners are paid for any spare electricity they export to the grid. Today, they’re paid almost the full retail rate in California — which is high. The average household tariff is more than 23 cents per kilowatt-hour, two-thirds more than the national average.
There are two problems with this. First, rooftop power that’s sold to the grid isn’t worth anything close to the retail rate, especially when much of the excess power is generated in the middle of the day, when the state has a surplus of electricity. The second problem flows from the first: If rooftop systems are overcompensated for their power, then someone else has to pick up the tab.And since solar panels are generally found on the homes of higher-income families, that tab is being picked up disproportionately by the less well-off. This cuts against the social equity objectives now often embedded in energy-transition policies…Read More…
Source : bloombergquint
