The variety of solar installations in California has plummeted and the market is at its lowest level in 10 years.
That's exactly what solar supporters warned that following the California Public Utilities Commission's recent decision to dramatically and abruptly reduce incentives for rooftop solar. And it's exactly what utilities – which see rooftop solar as competition – have all the time wanted.
A recent opinion piece on this paper states that the rooftop solar industry will not be dying, but relatively adapting to changing market conditions
The solar and storage industry is a resilient and revolutionary group. Rooftop solar with batteries remains to be a precious investment for consumers and much more in order Pacific Gas & Electric rates proceed to rise. We will discover a strategy to move forward and get solar and batteries back into the hands of everyone from public schools to renters. But the market downturn is undeniable, and the impact goes beyond those affecting businesses and solar employees.
While hundreds of solar employees have lost their jobs over the past yr and lots of firms have closed shop, the long-term damage to our clean energy and grid strengthening goals has been done.
Every Californian is counting on local solar and storage farms to activate the lights and reduce air pollution, since PG&E and the opposite investor utilities obviously can't do it alone.
Benefits for everybody
According to the California Energy Commission, rooftop solar must double by 2030. Before last yr, this spectacular performance was nearby because of a growing variety of working and middle-class consumers. California was on pace to construct tons of of hundreds of batteries by 2030, consistent with our climate goals.
That slowed as PG&E pressured the CPUC to gut the principal solar program, net metering, which incentivized latest rooftop installations. The decision cut the bill for utilities to construct latest solar projects, from homes to apartment buildings to varsities, for the surplus electricity they produce and share to the grid.
As California's population grows and electricity consumption increases, it’s important that the state increase its energy capability to maintain up with demand. Some of this latest capability will come from large solar farms and big battery banks within the desert, but not all. California must also construct solar and batteries in its cities, otherwise the demand for electricity will exceed supply and the grid will fail us again.
The CPUC said its decision to cut back solar incentives was aimed toward reducing its view of households without roof panels. However, the choice didn’t bear in mind all of the ways rooftop solar systems can save everyone money.
The CPUC assumes that customers with rooftop solar, who draw less energy from the grid, are a burden on everyone else, although these solar panels all save billions in avoided generation and transmission costs. That the CPUC -discounted common advantages and inflated costs is one reason why the The California Supreme Court agreed to review the choice.
Cost of doing nothing
When it involves climate change, the price of inaction is increasingly high. The stupidest and most costly thing California could do could be to attend to construct all of the clean energy we all know we want.
It's easy to see why large rooftop utilities hate solar. More local solar means less need for utility expenses, which in turn directly reduces utility profit. They attempt to hide the ball while eliminating the competition.
Californians need to know that their state government stands with them of their desire for clean air, reliable and inexpensive electricity, and the way they live their lives.
Here's how we get ourselves out of this climate chaos while cutting costs and keeping the lights on for everybody. Through revolutionary and intelligent technologies we will construct a greater future. But we want to work together and let the people, not PG&E, paved the way.
Bernadette Del Chiaro is executive director of the California Solar & Storage Association, the state's largest clean energy business group.
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