California clean energy industry rocked with widespread jobs losses, bankruptcies, following state’s dismantling of rooftop solar program::undefined
Frankly, it’d be far better for the state, its finances, its residents, its energy infrastructure, and fire prevention across the state if they dismantled PG&E instead of this rooftop solar program.
Well - they kinda needed the grid for this program. Basically, the incentive was you could install solar and send your excess power to the grid. Whatever you put on the grid, you could take back 1:1 when you needed it (ie. at night). Essentially, you could treat the grid as your battery, without needing to pay for a battery. This made the break even time horizon super short.
It also meant solar customers weren’t paying much for grid infrastructure and transmission costs.
Now, you can only draw back 25% of what you send to the grid. Getting a battery now makes more sense, but it’s also a big upfront cost.
Don’t get me wrong. PGE is evil incarnate and its execs should be sent to prison. The company should be seized by the public. Rates should be lowered on the backs of executive bonuses and salaries.
But, as a non-solar owner, I do think the previous deal was only going to increase costs for non-solar customers. It couldn’t last forever. Hopefully, the state does improve the current incentives just a bit though. More than anything though, the state needs to take control of PGE and fire the execs.
"SAN FRANCISCO – California’s once-thriving residential solar industry is in ruins after state officials slashed rooftop solar incentives, causing thousands of job losses, said clean energy advocates and solar industry representatives during a recent virtual briefing.
The incentives played a crucial role in outfitting solar panels on approximately 2 million homes, establishing the state as the leader in the clean energy revolution. But the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, bowed to demands from Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric to roll back those incentives."
Of course the gas/electric company hates it.
A big source of anti windmill propaganda around here came from the nuclear plant. Which is conviently owned by a gas pipeline company.
And remember, the cost of labour doesn’t effect the cost of electricity! Another point they love to preach as they also joke about how working there is like “playing hide and seek for 2 grand a week”
Welcome to the nuclear power generation industry in Canada.
Not from California, what happened? Why was the program implemented and then scrapped?
The CPUC board, appointed by governer Newsom, gets to set the rules.
The utilities including PGE and So Cal Edison apparently own said governer.
They decided to pay wholesale prices for electricity sold back to the grid instead of residential prices. That means that any excess power sold goes from around 33 cents to 6 cents, meaning that most people won’t see a change in their bills after installing solar because most households use power at night when there is no sun. This leads to people just not installing solar panels anymore.
Looks like industry got what they wanted.
Wow…I just got solar installed in Arizona because of a subsidy. My monthly bill is now less than average and will never go up.
Your lower energy bill is just one side of it. The true win is for our planet.
We’re not going to win hearts and minds unless we can show personally impactful results. Solar is an excellent way to do that.
Me for example; At this point I’d have to pay more for solar on my home. That’s kinda hard to swallow unless you’re well off.
I should note; Got a tiny house and it’s very efficient. I suspect most homeowners would be better off on solar.
So, what you’re saying is that people are selfish douchebags who care only about their own pocketbook? Sounds about right.
