While the ruling dealt with the arcane language within
the original law, the clarified interpretation is expected
to provide a long-term boost to the state’s residential
market.
The issue has
proven to be a major sticking point between the solar
industry — especially those in California — and the state’s
powerful utilities, which have argued that accepting more
net-metered solar would hurt ratepayers.
PUC Chairman Michael Peevey submitted the
approved proposal in April. As written, the law caps net
metering at 5 percent of “aggregate customer peak demand.”
After that, there is no guarantee that utilities will allow
new solar customers to sell their unused power back to the
grid. The question thus far has been in how utilities have
chosen to interpret the law.
The implications of the ruling can be measured in
gigawatts. A change in methodology is projected to allow a
cumulative capacity of 4,600 megawatts of mostly residential
installations. That figure, which also includes a limited
amount of small commercial projects that qualify for
net-metering, would be about 2,100 megawatts higher than had
the law not been clarified.
Sara Birmingham, the Solar Energy Industries Association
Director of Western States, released the following statement
after the vote:
“This decision is a positive step forward for clean
energy jobs, for ratepayers, and for our state.
“The commissioners noted that there is wide disagreement
on the issues related to the cost shift between solar and
non-solar customers. SEIA looks forward to working with
stakeholders on the study of costs and benefits, and
believes the study will report these costs as minimal.
“We are hopeful the Commission will resolve additional
technical issues raised by the decision to ensure the growth
of solar energy jobs in California and maintaining our
state’s leadership in this sector.
“On behalf of the solar industry, residential customers,
schools, businesses and more than 60,000 Californians who
urged the PUC to make solar energy credits more widely
available and to boost one of our brightest job-creating
industries, we thank the Governor and the Commissioners for
their support today.”
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