Solar energy’s popularity jumped with net metering. Now, utilities plan to cap the program 3 years earlier than expected, and it’s an issue in the governor’s race.
James Bruggers reports for Inside Climate News:
On July 31, Duke Energy plans to cap its net-metering program in South Carolina. After that, customers adding new solar systems will get less favorable rates. Credit: Alexandra Beier/Getty Images
South Carolina shot from almost no solar energy to having enough to power nearly 100,000 homes in less than four years, but it’s about to slam on the brakes.
When the state legislature passed its landmark energy bill in 2014, it ushered in a net-metering system that allows residential and smaller-scale commercial power customers with solar panels to get credit at retail rates for the power they produce and send back to the grid.
But the legislation had a catch: Once solar output reached 2 percent of utilities’ peak power production, the utilities could cap the program.
On July 31, Duke Energy plans to do just that for a large swath of the state. Two other utilities are also expected to hit 2 percent in the coming months, solar installers say. Customers who already have net metering won’t see any change until the whole program is due to expire in 2025, but Duke Energy customers who add solar after this month will get much less favorable rates.
This is all coming three years earlier than expected, and it could put as many as 3,000 solar jobs at risk.
