Community solar allows California to lower energy bills, boost access to clean energy
“Hindering community solar development will also set California back from achieving the resilient and reliable clean energy grid customers deserve.” The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is considering a proposal that could limit access to shared solar and storage benefits for low-income communities. This move would significantly limit these benefits to residential customers who have seen their electricity rates double in the last decade. The Utility Reform Network argues that community solar can expand access to financial benefits to communities that have been left out of California's rooftop solar revolution. The proposal is supported by lawmakers who have supported the Net Value Billing Tariff, which would require at least 51% of the benefits to be provided to low income customers and those unable to install rooftop solar. Unlike rooftop solar, community solar subscribers would receive bill reductions tied to the demonstrated value these projects provide to the entire grid.
公開済み : 一ヶ月前 沿って の Environment
It’s not often that environmental justice groups, solar developers, green groups, home builders and ratepayer advocates align on policy. But when it comes to community solar in California, this diverse group of stakeholders agrees: the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is getting this wrong.
Regulators could vote soon on a misguided proposal that would senselessly limit access to the benefits of shared solar and storage for renters and low-income communities. In California, where residential customers have seen their electricity rates double in the last decade, this would limit a key opportunity to deliver bill relief.
At The Utility Reform Network, we urge regulators to reconsider. Done right, community solar policy in California can expand access to the financial benefits of solar and energy storage to communities that have been shut out of California’s rooftop solar revolution — renters and low-income households. Crucially, it can do so without driving up electricity bills for everyone else.
Here’s how community solar works: Instead of installing solar panels on a single-family home or apartment building, community solar projects allow subscribers to get a portion of their electricity from a centralized solar farm located elsewhere, like on a community center, parking lot or field. This allows a customer to enter into a direct relationship with a specific clean energy project, realize a share of the economic benefits produced by the facility and have those benefits credited to their utility bill.
California lawmakers saw the value of community solar to advance the clean energy transition while delivering utility bill relief for low-income communities suffering most from rate increases. That’s why they passed Assembly Bill 2316 in 2022, which ordered the CPUC to create an affordable and equitable community-solar program.
Lawmakers have been explicit with regulators about the intent of their legislation: to consolidate, eliminate or modify existing programs that have failed to provide meaningful access to 100% renewable energy. They’ve backed an approach supported by diverse stakeholders called the “Net Value Billing Tariff,” which would require at least 51% of the benefits to be provided to low-income customers and allow renters and low-income customers who are unable to install rooftop solar to receive the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy. The program is specifically designed to assist the 45% of Californians and two-thirds of low-income residents who rent their homes.
Unlike the unbalanced incentives for rooftop solar which have become so expensive that they are a primary driver of overall rate increases, community solar subscribers would receive bill reductions tied to the demonstrated value these projects provide to the entire grid. This approach is far more cost-effective, would protect the interests of all customers and incentivizes projects to operate in a manner that produces the highest value for the entire grid.
Instead of pursuing the Net Value Billing Tariff, the CPUC has proposed doubling down on the existing failed approach in California: legacy utility-run programs that have produced anemic results in the past and are extremely unlikely to succeed without major changes.
The details of the current structure are complicated, but the results of implementing the decision are straightforward: low-income communities desperately in need of utility bill relief will be largely shut out of benefiting from community solar. That’s a devastating outcome.
In addition to restricting a key tool for lowering utility bills, hindering community solar development will also set California back from achieving the resilient and reliable clean energy grid customers deserve. Requiring community solar projects to be paired with battery storage, as The Utility Reform Network has proposed, would ensure that solar energy produced during peak daytime hours will be stored and released in the evening when the grid faces maximum demand and the highest reliance on fossil fuels. This storage capability would significantly enhance these projects’ value as powerful tools for grid reliability.
Now is the time for the CPUC to recognize the opportunity to use community solar to deliver on the state’s energy reliability and affordability goals. The commission must reject the flawed proposed decision and instead choose to lower energy bills for Californians while expanding access to clean, reliable shared solar energy for renters and low-income communities.
トピック: ESG