Regulators have slashed the value of shared-solar systems, starting in 2025. School districts, community advocates, and politicians have expressed outrage over the decision.
By Jeff St. John, Canary Media
California regulators have ordered changes to the state’s shared-solar programs that critics say will ruin the economics of rooftop solar on apartment buildings, schools, and farms across much of the state.
And while the new regulations approved by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday have been modified from the rules proposed earlier this year to reduce the impact of the changes on renters, critics say the current version will still make rooftop solar uneconomic for most rental property owners, putting the benefits of solar further out of reach for the four in 10 Californians who rent their homes.
CPUC President Alice Reynolds said at Thursday’s meeting that the changes will help California “achieve a constellation of goals including grid reliability, greenhouse gas reductions, affordability equity, consumer protections and cost containment of utility bills.” The changes won’t affect existing customers, but they will apply starting in mid-2025 to new projects for customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison , and San Diego Gas & Electric, the state’s three biggest utilities.
But Reynolds’ comments fly in the face of strident opposition from clean energy groups, renters’ rights advocates, affordable-housing proponents, farming groups, school districts, and more than 135 local elected officials. These groups have warned that the new regulations could derail investments in clean power needed to help the state reach its decarbonization goals while preventing schools, farms, and rental-housing properties from mitigating the burden of utility bills that are already among the highest in the country and are set to rise further in the coming years.
Related:
Opinion: California strikes another blow against rooftop solar (L.A. Times)
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