. . . companies that financed the majority of U.S. rooftop solar installations, formed a lobbying group to counter efforts by “monopoly utilities” to quash programs that support renewable energy in 43 states.
The Alliance for Solar Choice will focus initially on preserving so-called net energy metering policies that require utilities to purchase surplus electricity at retail rates from customers with rooftop solar systems, the group said today in a statement.
When it comes to the substance of that conversation, however, the solar industry is split. A major reason for that is disagreement within the industry over whether utilities are friends or foes.
“The solar industry is very diverse, and when you look at the various interests at play, they don’t necessarily align,” said Julia Hamm, president and CEO of the Solar Electric Power Association, which counts both solar companies and utilities among its members. “But a growing number of voices in the industry are willing to sit down with utilities and talk about finding a solution that benefits everyone.”
Xcel Energy is seeking to restructure the incentives and credits for rooftop solar, and it has set off a battle over competing visions of the future of solar in Colorado.
It is a battle between an old-line utility and new solar-leasing companies that have become Wall Street darlings.
It is a battle over the costs and benefits of rooftop solar and how much rooftop solar should be available to customers.
“There is no question this is a war of business models and who has access to distributed solar,” said Meghan Nutting, director of policy and electricity markets at SolarCity Corp., the nation’s largest lessor of solar systems.
Source: http://electricalcontractor.com/?p=12998
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