April 30, 2015 | By Jaclyn Brandt

Nevada is undergoing a net metering battle, but it looks like energy customers support raising the cap. According to a poll paid for by The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) -- which is a consortium of solar companies -- the majority of people support legislative action for solar energy as well as net metering.

Solar panels on the rooftop of the MGM in Las Vegas, NV. Credit: SolarWriter/Wikimedia Commons

The poll was conducted by WPA Opinion Research, who spoke with 300 Nevadans. They found found that 70 percent of voters support a net metering policy, and nearly 74 percent of voters would be less likely to support a representative who had not voted for a rise in the cap of net metering. Eighty-four percent are in support of solar energy.

NV Energy is fighting the effort by rooftop solar companies to raise the cap, said Bryan Miller, vice president of public policy and power markets for the rooftop solar company Sunrun Inc.

"Through net metering, rooftop solar customers receive a credit of about 12 cents/kwh for the excess power they produce when the real value of that power is worth about 5 cents," a spokesperson for NV Energy told FierceEnergy. "All other customers subsidize the difference. So, to protect customer without rooftop solar systems from paying more than their fair share, the Nevada Legislature put a 3 percent cap of total NV Energy load on net metering."

There are currently 5,900 solar employees in Nevada, at 109 different solar companies, and the state is ranked fifth in terms of overall installed solar -- including 339 megawatts (MW) installed in 2014 alone. Miller told the Review Journal that if the legislature does not raise the cap, solar will no longer be viable in the state.

Nevada is close to the cap of 3 percent net metering, which could be reached in the next year or two. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission (NPUC) recently conducted a study that found net metering wouldn't have a large effect on other customers, and that over a 25-year period, net metering customers would end up seeing reduced rates. Perhaps more importantly though, the study found that non-net metering customers would not be affected because of the central station renewables that the utility would avoid purchasing due to the net metering customers.

NV Energy has also shown they are in favor of renewables, and recently announced they passed their Renewable Portfolio Standard requirement for 2014 of 18 percent. The utility's northern territory hit 33.6 percent renewables, and their southern territory hit 20.2 percent. They are also constructing two new large-scale solar projects: the 20 MW Mountain View solar array north of Las Vegas and the 17.5 MW Searchlight Solar project near Searchlight, NV.

"Any increase to the net metering cap increases costs to all customers," NV Energy told FierceEnergy. "NV Energy supports solar in all forms, and that includes the choice to install rooftop solar. We want to ensure it can be done without subsidies and higher rates by balancing costs and benefits to ensure fair, sustainable rates for all customers."

For more:
- read the full poll
- view this study
- visit this website
- visit this website

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http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/poll-nevada-residents-support-net-metering/2015-04-30