California’s SB 700 Moves Forward To Full Assembly Vote; Next Three Weeks Are Critical

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Last week, more than 200 solar + storage advocated descended on Sacramento to push for passage of of a significant energy storage bill.

Their efforts seem to have had the desired effect, as SB 700 – an energy storage bill that fell completely off the legislative radar last year – is now front and center as it moved out of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee and on to the full assembly floor. The bill would extend the incentives for the popular Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

Between it and SB 100, which would move California to a 100% renewable portfolio standard (RPS), the next three weeks could be absolutely critical to pushing the full clean energy agenda forward in The Golden State.

As Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of California Solar & Storage Association, told the attendees of its Lobby Day, now is not the time to get complacent.

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Del Chiaro wrote in a note:

We now have three weeks to put the bill on the governor’s desk. Next week, if all goes well, SB 700 will be put to a floor vote giving all 80 assembly members a chance to vote for it. We need at least 41 votes to ensure its passage out of the assembly. Stay tuned for action alerts on how you can add your voice to this effort.

If we clear the assembly, we’ll head back to the senate for a concurrence vote. The bill passed the senate last year with 23 votes (need a minimum of 21) and faces less opposition this year due to amendments taken in the assembly. But you never know. It is the end of session so things get a little crazy.

We need to be loud and stay vigilant.

The momentum started at Lobby Day next week is the perfect example of what a motivated, strong show of support for solar at the state level can do. We applaud Del Chiaro and urge solar industries in other states to study and learn from California’s example. Together, we are an unstoppable force. Let’s translate California’s success into success across the country.

Oh, and stay vigilant, California – your battle isn’t over quite yet.

Q&A With Bernadette DelChiaro: California Lobby Day – What It Is And Why You Should Care

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

In a previous life, writer Frank Andorka spent his Februarys at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. attending the Legislative Day for the pest management industry. He’s always been surprised there isn’t such a national conference/day for the solar industry, but he did discover that the California Solar + Storage Association holds its own version in Sacramento on Wednesday. He asked Bernadette DelChiaro, the group’s executive director, about why she thinks “Lobby Day” is important. Here are her answers.

Frank Andorka (FA): What is Lobby Day?

Bernadette DelChiaro (BDC): Our annual Solar & Storage Worker Lobby Day is a chance for workers from across the state to educate lawmakers about the jobs our industry supports, and the value of those jobs to people and families. It also gives us a chance to push for our top legislative priorities, such as passing SB 700.

FA: Why is it important?

BDC: The state legislature sets the pace for the continued growth of solar and storage in California. Despite the state’s commitment to clean energy, powerful opponents to solar spend millions of dollars on insider lobbyists and make large contributions to political campaigns. The best way to cut through all this is for the men and women who make up our 86,000 work force to speak face-to-face with the decision makers, telling personal stories that will leave a lasting impression.

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FA: Why should people attend?

BDC: Before the end of August, California legislators will take several major votes that will drastically shape the solar & storage market. Anyone who works in solar or storage in California will be directly impacted by the decisions made by these lawmakers. Solar & Storage Worker Day is a great opportunity for average, everyday solar and storage workers to directly share their story, make a positive impression and win over votes.

FA: What is the most useful thing solar installers can do on Lobby Day (if they attend)?

BDC: Tell a story about themselves. Why did they choose a career in solar and storage? How long have they been doing this work? Why is their job worth protecting?

FA: How important is it for solar and storage professionals to get involved in the political process?

BDC: Utilities and fossil fuel companies are heavily involved in the political process, and they spend millions of dollars lobbying elected officials and influencing public policy. It’s critical for solar and storage professionals to get involved in the political process to counteract that messaging and let [legislators] know how things really are.

FA: What is the biggest issue facing California in the solar + storage industry?

BDC: In the near term, the looming expiration of the storage rebate program coupled with changing utility rates that make solar harder to pencil out. SB 700 would extend those rebates out five years [and dedicate] another $700 million to the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

California Assembly Considers SB 100, Should Pass It Posthaste

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

California’s Assembly has a huge opportunity before it right now, and they should seize it posthaste.

Before them is a bill to move the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 100% by 2045. It would match the most aggressive RPS in the nation (Hawaii) and put the world’s fifth (or sixth, depending on who you believe) largest economy on a path to 100% renewable energy. And it would be a huge step forward for the United States because, as everyone knows, solar and renewable energy trends start in California and then make their way to other states in the country shortly thereafter.

Have I mentioned the California Assembly should pass this bill immediately if not sooner?

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Bill McKibbon, founder of 350.org, wrote on the subject in The New York Times and said this:

If any place on earth can handle this transition, it’s California, home to some of the planet’s strongest sunshine and many of its finest clean-tech entrepreneurs.

McKibbon speaks the truth. The state has long been home to the most burgeoning solar industry in the country. And despite new challengers emerging each year, California remains atop the Solar Energy Industries Association’s list of Top Solar States year after year after year.

Its grid had already absorbed more solar and wind energy (though it is mostly solar in California, let’s be honest) than any other grid in the United States, and they are well on their way to transitioning from net metering to whatever the next compensation plan for solar users is. And the results have been staggeringly positive.

It’s the perfect laboratory to show what happens when utilities stop fighting the Solar Revolution and embrace it instead, and they’ve shown the path toward rooftop solar coexisting with utility-scale solar and beyond. Why not take the opportunity to give it one last push over the finish line?

The vote could come as soon as this month, and if it passes it could be historic. Let’s make sure the California assembly knows we’re behind them. Let’s make sure they pass this law – and make solar history.

South Carolina Derails Its Clean Energy Future With Last Minute Legislative Shenanigans

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The utilities showed their muscle again in South Carolina, “persuading” legislators to remove two pro-solar provisions from the state’s budget bill and scuttling the chances of fomenting solar growth during this legislative session.

Removing the state’st net metering caps and encouraging more purchases of solar electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) had been in the bill until the last moment, when they were removed because they allegedly didn’t meet the standards for being part of the budget process.

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The move was reminiscent of a similar maneuver earlier this year when the net-metering provision was taken out of another bill after intense utility lobbying turned some typically pro-solar legislators against it. Once gain, the South Carolina legislature has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when it comes to creating sane solar policy in the Palmetto State. Predictably, the national solar industry reacted angrily to the news.

“Today, lawmakers caved to utility interests instead of looking out for all South Carolina solar workers, households, and businesses,” said Tyson Grinstead, Southeast director of public policy for residential installer Sunrun. “When Duke reaches its limit on solar energy over the next few weeks hundreds of industry workers will be forced to leave the upstate.

“Households will no longer have the freedom to choose solar energy as an alternative to paying the highest energy bills in the country,” Grinstead continued. “This recent primary election proved that opposing energy choices such as solar is politically toxic. We look forward to working with the lawmakers who are searching for a permanent solution that encourages more homegrown energy choices, jobs, and economic prosperity for the state.”

Thad Culley, regional director for Vote Solar, was no less upset but did single out the bipartisan group of legislators who led the fight to eliminate the net metering cap for praise.

“It is deeply disappointing that clean energy progress in South Carolina will be delayed another year, putting at risk 3,000 local jobs in the state’s once-thriving solar industry and limiting South Carolinians only true alternatives to monopoly utilities,” Culley said. “We thank Representatives Nathan Ballentine, Peter McCoy and James Smith for their strong bipartisan leadership and for championing the energy freedom, lower utility bills, and solar workforce that solar brings to South Carolina.

“We look forward to removing arbitrary limits on solar’s potential in next year’s session and reminding all lawmakers that this is an issue that has overwhelming support from voters across the political spectrum,” Culley said.

For Culley’s dream to be realized, however, the power of the utilities (if you’ll pardon the pun) will have to be curbed within the statehouse because even when victories have been secured, the lobbyists are able to get to members of the legislature to undo them, sometimes as soon as the next day. For South Carolina’s solar policy to have any chance of changing for the better, that’s the monopoly that will have to be broken.

“The Legislature missed an opportunity to help consumers save money, generate more low-cost renewable energy, and give the economy more solar jobs,” said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “This is a deeply disappointing outcome for the people of South Carolina, who now will be paying unnecessarily high electric bills to the monopoly utilities. Without a permanent solution that enables solar businesses to compete and provides fair rates for consumers, the state will have a hard time growing solar and maintaining the thousands of solar jobs that came with the passage of 2014’s Act 236.”

And so the battle for hearts and minds in South Carolina will have to continue for another year – and in the meantime, jobs will be lost.