California reduces rooftop solar incentive it says favored the rich

Dec 15 (Reuters) – California households with solar panels will obtain decrease credit for exporting surplus energy to the grid, California utility regulators voted on Thursday, saying the transfer can be fairer to low-income ratepayers and would nonetheless keep a wholesome solar trade.

For many years, Californians with rooftop panels have been credited for extra energy at or close to the full retail electrical energy fee. The unanimous vote by the five-member California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has lowered the fee, which will likely be decided by the value the utility would have spent to purchase clear energy elsewhere. The charges differ by utility and time of day.

The determination is a blow to the state’s solar firms, who’ve mentioned the new coverage would sluggish installations and hamper the Golden State’s clear vitality targets.

Supporters say this incentive has been essential to preventing local weather change, however critics contend it has unfairly favored solely these rich sufficient to afford solar.

“This decision is significantly more equitable than the status quo,” CPUC President Alice Reynolds mentioned forward of the vote.

The new coverage, first proposed final month, adjustments the so-called “net metering” coverage and can take impact in the first half of subsequent yr.

It may also provide new credit to methods paired with batteries that permit properties to maintain extra energy in reserve when demand is low, then feed it into the grid after darkish when solar vitality assets cease producing however demand is excessive. That would assist stabilize California’s grid, sustaining reliability throughout its formidable transition away from fossil fuels, the CPUC mentioned.

The vote was being watched nationwide as a result of insurance policies made in California typically function a template for different states looking for to exchange fossil fuels with renewable vitality.

The solar trade and environmental teams criticized the determination.

“California regulators just rammed through a plan to make rooftop solar more expensive as the climate crisis spirals out of control,” Roger Lin, an legal professional with the Center for Biological Diversity, mentioned in an e mail.

Utilities and ratepayer advocates supported altering the coverage, arguing the current mechanism pushes most of the value burden of sustaining the grid onto the shoulders of shoppers with out panels, who are typically much less prosperous.

But a utility-backed group, Affordable Clean Energy For All, mentioned the determination didn’t go far sufficient.

“This final decision was a missed opportunity that will prolong the harm to low-income Californians and renters for decades to come,” spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks mentioned.

Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by David Gregorio and Josie Kao

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