By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:Solar electricity wracked up an enormous victory in South Carolina yesterday when the House of Representatives eliminated the prevailing net metering caps on residential installations.

• But don’t spike the ball too early: The issue now goes before the state’s Senate, where the debate is expected to be just as contentious as it was in the lower chamber.
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• Yes, the utilities are trotting out the cost-shift fabrication again – but I won’t spend too much time on it right now because I’m in a celebratory mood.

South Carolina should get ac-CUSTOMED to more residential solar installations (see what we did there? It’s a Custom’s House in Charleston. See. Cust….oh never mind).

SolarWakeup’s View:  Maybe South Carolina is sick and tired of being in the shadow of its northern neighbor when it comes to discussions of being a top solar state. Whatever the reason, the residential solar industry in the southern stronghold got an initial boost yesterday as the House of Representatives passed legislation removing the net metering caps that had hampered to growth of the residential segment.

As the debate raged over whether to remove the caps or not, installers worried the net metering restrictions – which the state was rapidly approaching as solar boomed – would inhibit further growth and cause job losses as new installations dwindled.

The victory stunned some observers, especially since a utility-backed bill was on the floor at the same time (it failed). Duke Energy expressed disappointment in the to the Charleston (South Carolina) Post & Courrier newspaper, but one representative/solar advocate could barely contain his excitement.

“We’re no longer competitive in being able to attract industry because we have some of the highest (electricity) rates in the country,” said state Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, during an hours-long debate on the House floor [according to the newspaper]. “We’ve got to change that. This bill will do it.”

Before South Carolina solar advocates spike the ball, however, they should remember the bill still has to be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, and most veteran political observers believe this fight is going to be just as brutal there. Still, one South Carolina installer expressed his excitement to SolarWakeup this way:

We had a major victory yesterday with the house passing the bill but its headed to the Senate where its going to be a heated debate. If this bill goes through, [South Carolina] will become one of the top solar friendly states in the country and it’s important for everyone to see and understand the process the bill makes/or doesn’t make as it moves through our legislative system. I hope that [our state] can be a beacon of light for other states and their citizens to keep fighting and pushing for more progressive energy policies that work for the people not the “public” utilities.

Maybe soon South Carolina will stand beside its northern neighbor in the sunlight instead of being hidden in its shadow.

More:

In victory for solar industry, South Carolina House votes to keep lower costs for rooftop panels (James Lovegrove, Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courrier)

OK, here’s your “cost-shift” refresher. You’re really bringing me down here.

Zombie Lie Returns; Time To Kill It Again

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:The New Jersey legislature got about the business of undoing former Governor Chris Christie’s treachery when it came to the solar industry, passing two companion bills out of committees in the House and Senate that would fix Christie’s mischief by increasing the state’s RPS and create a community solar program.

• On his way out the door, Christie “pocket-vetoed” a bill that would have increased the state’s RPS, a move the state’s solar industry says is desperately needed to maintain its strength as a market.
• Now, under a governor who has unceasingly pledged his undying love to the industry, the two companion bills in the House and Senate have moved one step closer to passage and Governor Phil Murphy’s expected signature.
• Though nothing is ever a done deal until the ink is dry with the governor’s signature, the moves yesterday gave the state’s solar advocates a much-needed victory in a market in need of stability after years of turmoil.

Atlantic City, New Jersey, might be able to expand its use of solar if two new bills are eventually passed and signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy.

SolarWakeup’s View:  Thankfully, it appears Maine’s incessant desire to destroy its own solar industry is the exception instead of the rule in state legislatures these days.

Following a victory for the clean-energy industry in South Carolina on the same day, two companion bills passed their respective House and Senate committees and moved one step closer to passage in the New Jersey legislature – after which Governor Phil Murphy could reasonably be expected to sign a combined measure.

“New Jersey was one of the pioneering states in the solar industry,” said Tony Clifford, CDO of Standard Solar, a Maryland-based national solar company. “It’s great to see the legislature taking actions that will re-energize the industry in the state and create a strong and dynamic solar market going forward.”

According to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the bills would:

• Mandate that New Jersey gets more than 50% of its energy from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2030, a fourfold increase in the next 12 years over the progress made since 2001, while protecting customers with a cap on the cost.
• Create a community solar program that will ensure all customers will have access to the benefits of solar energy for the first time, including low-income and multi-family residence customers.
• Establish an energy efficiency program that would decrease harmful emissions from the power sector by approximately 350,000 metric tons per year, the equivalent of removing approximately 75,000 cars from the roads per year.

For years, under the visionary leadership of former Governor Jon Corzine, the Garden State could once claim the second-highest installed-solar capacity in the country, trailing only California. Thanks to an unstable SREC market and some overbuilding, the state’s solar industry growth has slowed in recent years, while its neighbor and rival New York has sped past it into its own solar prominence.

But you didn’t think New Jerseyeans would take this lying down, right? For now, it appears that New Jersey could be on the cusp of a solar renaissance – and yesterday’s actions in the legislature are a good first step in that direction.

“It is heartening to see the New Jersey legislature take actions that will allow our state’s solar industry to continue to grow and thrive,” said Jesse Grossman, CEO of Soltage, a New Jersey-based national solar company. “All New Jerseyans deserve the opportunity to access solar and see the economic benefits which the attendant job growth and infrastructure investment will bring to the Garden State. With this new legislation and the governors expected signature, the future of the solar industry in New Jersey will indeed continue to shine.”

We couldn’t agree more.

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