2020 Trends Making and Braking Rooftop Solar in the South
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) announced its 2020 Solar "Makers" and "Brakers" list highlighting some of the most impactful policies affecting rooftop solar growth across the sunny South.
The 2020 Solar Makers include states, regulators and utilities taking action to encourage rooftop solar. This year's Solar Brakers shed light on utility policies that undermine, and in some cases, completely put the brakes on rooftop solar as a cost-effective, clean energy choice for Southerners.
"In a challenging year, we are still able to highlight a few bright spots in the Southeast where solar power policies are shining," said Lauren Bowen, Leader of SELC's Solar Initiative. "On the whole, we've seen some real consistency in the kinds of policies that encourage more clean, renewable solar power and those that dampen consumer access to solar power. Especially now, consumers need more opportunities to control their electricity bills, and we are encouraged by the Solar Maker trends leading the way."
Solar is booming across the South as more homeowners turn to clean, affordable rooftop solar to meet their energy needs and state policy makers embrace local solar growth and the benefits that come with it. Currently the Southeast has over 12 gigawatts of solar installed, and over 14.5 gigawatts installed or committed. When SELC launched Rates of Solar in 2018, there were approximately 25,000 homes and businesses in our six-state region with rooftop solar. Two years later, that total has more than doubled.
People in the South have some of the highest residential electric bills in the country and going solar is one of the few options that customers have to reduce the amount of energy they buy from utilities and lower their bills. Yet, residents across the region interested in putting solar on their homes, schools or businesses must first consider their utility's rooftop solar policies before making the investment to determine if it's a feasible option.
Southerners who want to learn more about solar policies and how their local electric utilities might be impacting solar can visit SELC's Rates of Solar website. This digital tool summarizes complicated and often difficult-to-find rooftop solar policies for over 400 utilities across the region.
"The Rates of Solar website allows people to access the most up-to-date solar policies for hundreds of utilities across SELC's six-state region," said Jill Kysor, SELC staff attorney. "Our website provides simple, straightforward information for homeowners and businesses interested in rooftop solar about how utilities across the Southeast are treating those customers. As we update the website each year to capture policy changes, we are able to identify key regional trends that are making or braking rooftop solar's growth in our region."
Here are the 2020 Solar Makers and Brakers:
2020 Solar Makers
-- Significant State-Level Progress: Virginia legislation expands net
metering and access to financing
-- This is the second year in a row that Virginia has been a Solar
Maker because of groundbreaking clean energy legislation. The
Virginia Clean Economy Act dramatically expands net metering, making
rooftop solar more economical for a greater number of Virginians. A
portion of this expanded capacity is set aside for Virginians
earning a lower income, helping to broaden access to the
bill-savings and other benefits of solar. The legislation also makes
rooftop solar more affordable by ensuring that Virginians who earn a
lower income can avoid high upfront costs by financing their solar
installations. In addition to these changes, Virginia passed
legislation establishing new shared solar programs, including
programs for residents living in multi-family housing. The details
of the new programs aren't finalized yet, but they have the
potential to further increase access to solar. With these big steps
forward, Virginia to continues to pave the way for significant,
local solar growth in our region.
-- Planning for the Future: Duke Energy in South Carolina creates a
long-term plan for rooftop solar
-- Net metering has encouraged the adoption of solar power in South
Carolina from less than 500 rooftops in 2014 to more than 20,000
today. Building on this success, Duke Energy recently announced an
agreement with conservation groups, solar advocates, and solar
industry members to evolve the state's net metering policies while
also continuing to encourage investments in rooftop solar over the
next ten years. The agreement pairs rooftop solar with smart
thermostats and dynamic pricing to encourage customers to conserve
electricity during peak demand while compensating more for solar
production during those same times. Customers who install rooftop
solar may also be eligible to receive an upfront incentive for
agreeing to a new solar plus smart thermostat program. The program
is expected to expand to solar plus storage opportunities in future
years, and Duke Energy has committed to exploring a version of the
program for customers earning a lower income. The innovative new
arrangement must be approved by the South Carolina Public Service
Commission and is expected to be proposed in North Carolina at a
later date.
-- Shift to Fair Monthly Netting: Georgia Power customers can use homegrown
solar to offset energy purchases
-- The Georgia Public Service Commission directed Georgia Power to
change how rooftop solar customers are credited for valuable clean
energy their systems provide to the grid. Under the new monthly
netting policy, customers can use 100% of their homegrown solar
energy to offset their energy usage over the course of a month,
making solar much more affordable than it had been under the Georgia
Power's previous policy that did not allow for monthly netting. This
improved policy is only available to 5,000 Georgia Power solar
customers (or 32 megawatts of new rooftop capacity, whichever comes
first), just a fraction of the utility's more than 2 million
customers. The Public Service Commission created a big opportunity
with this policy change, but SELC will continue to monitor what the
Commissioners and Georgia Power do as the program reaches capacity.
2020 Solar Brakers
-- Plummeting Pay Backs + Punitive Fees: TVA's rooftop policies go from bad
to worse
-- The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Solar Braker for the third
consecutive year. Across TVA's territory, residents who invest in
rooftop solar receive rock-bottom rates for excess energy. The rates
can change every month, giving homeowners no certainty about the
credits they'll receive for clean energy provided to their utility.
Making matters worse, this year TVA approved a policy that allows
retail utilities in their territory to put rooftop solar customers
into a separate rate class. This opens the door for utilities to
impose monthly fees on solar customers that are higher than existing
monthly fees imposed on non-solar residential customers. We'll be
watching Tennessee to see whether local power companies take action
on TVA's new policy and start imposing discriminatory rates on
rooftop solar customers next year.
-- Steep Monthly Fees: Alabama Power increases its already sky-high solar
penalties
-- Alabama Power makes our list of Solar Brakers for a third time.
Alabama Power, the largest utility in the state, imposes sky-high
monthly fees on rooftop solar customers. This year, Alabama Power
increased its already-steep fees for solar customers, making it even
less affordable for Alabamians to go solar. In light of these
additional roadblocks, it's no surprise that Alabama has far fewer
rooftop solar customers than any other Southern state.
-- Stopping Customers from Using Homegrown Energy: North Carolina municipal
utilities force solar sales
-- In North Carolina, more than 15 city-owned electric utilities
continue to impose punitive policies requiring rooftop solar owners
to sell 100% of their homegrown electricity at low wholesale rates
and buy back electricity at much higher retail rates. It's simply
not fair to stop residents from using the clean energy that their
solar panels produce, especially at a time when consumers need more
control over their electricity bills--not less.
Southern Environmental Law Center
For more than 30 years, the Southern Environmental Law Center has used the power of the law to champion the environment of the Southeast. With more than 80 attorneys and nine offices across the region, SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast's foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect our natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org
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