California Community Solar Program Undermined by Profit-Driven Utility Interests – Liberation News

Photo: A team installs solar panels in Irvine, California. Source: Thomas Kelsey/US Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon

You might think that California is leading the U.S. in its renewable energy transition, but the state has recently taken a big step back. On May 30, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to reject a plan that would have added eight gigawatts of state solar capacity, which could have powered about 800,000 homes. The plan, called a net-metering rate, could have boosted California’s solar production by 17% from current levels.

Despite support from a broad coalition of forces—solar companies, farmers, environmental justice organizations, labor unions, consumer advocates, and state legislators, both Republican and Democratic, the CPUC has sided with continued private utility control of the state’s energy system. Instead of voting to support the development of community solar, the CPUC has instead ordered the state’s for-profit energy providers—Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric—to restructure their fragmented solar programs, which had done little or nothing to increase solar energy in the state for more than a decade.

Passed last September, the state’s Assembly Bill 2316 directed the CPUC to establish a new, affordable and equitable community solar program that would increase development. The bill attempted to address the problems of the commission’s existing programs, which increased community solar capacity by only 163 megawatts over a few years, which translates into energy potential for about 16,000 of the state’s 14.5 million homes. The 20 state legislators who supported AB 2316 warned that without NVBTs, the state would likely fall short of its renewable energy and climate goals.

The CPUC ruling only benefits private utilities

PG&E, the largest private utility company in the United States, will again benefit from close cooperation with the CPUC. Just last year, the CPUC voted for a $13.5 billion revenue requirement for PG&E, which resulted in a 13% increase in customer bills, increasing energy rates to double 2019 rates.

PG&E has a long history of criminal negligence that has not only caused property damage but also claimed lives across California – from toxic waste illegally dumped in Hinkley that contaminated the city’s drinking water, to a gas line explosion that it destroyed an entire neighborhood in San Bruno and killed eight people, and aging transmission infrastructure caused countless fires across the state. Between 2014 and 2017 alone, PG&E’s faulty energy infrastructure sparked 1,500 fires, and the deadliest incident to date, the 153,000-acre Camp Fire, killed 84 people and destroyed the town of Paradise in 2018, among many other crimes.

This latest CPUC decision, which benefits PG&E and other private utilities in the state, will mean a much slower and more expensive transition to solar energy. Earlier in 2022, the CPUC reduced payments for solar homeowners who sold excess energy back to the grid. This has caused a statewide solar market crash and large industry job losses at a time when we need a major expansion of renewable energy sources to fight climate change. The following year, the commission again reduced incentives for solar energy, limiting payments for excess energy produced – this time targeting solar energy in schools, businesses and multifamily buildings.

California lags behind other states in community solar programs, producing just 1 percent of the 6.28 gigawatts of energy delivered through local solar programs in 22 states. NVBT would allow local solar projects to earn a steady income from the energy they generate, encouraging clean energy development and battery storage. With revenue from selling excess energy back to the grid, low-income residents would receive reduced utility rates. For communities of color and low-income communities across the United States, utilities often consume a large portion of household income, becoming an even larger percentage as PG&E rates continue to rise.

Overall, California is on track to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. On its current trajectory, the state would need to triple the rate of emissions reductions since 2010. Given this shortfall and the urgency of the climate crisis that is severely impacting the state, from extreme drought and heat waves to increasingly devastating wildfires and floods, you would think the state would use every resource it could to quickly reduce emissions.

Solar and wind energy are currently the cheapest energy source and the fastest to be implemented. However, the state actually went in the opposite direction and saw a 3.5% increase in energy sector emissions between 2019 and 2021. To meet its climate goals, the state must reduce energy sector emissions by 6.3% annually between 2021 and 2035. The blame lies with the lack of state support for renewable energy deployment, which makes it uneconomical to significantly expand community solar, as well as the monopoly that private utilities have over the energy sector.

The expansion of community solar microgrids – which was the goal of NVBT – could help rapidly reduce emissions from the energy sector. Microgrids operate independently, but can share energy with a larger grid. This increases resilience to outages during extreme weather events, unlike a centralized network where widespread outages affecting millions of people can occur. Microgrids also reduce energy costs and reduce energy loss when transmitted over long distances. Under capitalism, community solar microgrids pose a threat to the profits of private utilities. Ultimately, ensuring continued profits for the ruling elite outweighs implementing real climate solutions in any meaningful way.

New Cold War with China Makes Real Climate Solutions Harder

Overall, the United States lags far behind in renewable capacity compared to China, which is the world leader in renewable capacity, with almost four times the capacity of the United States. China also produces 77.8% of the world’s solar modules at a much lower cost than any other country due to economies of scale. Another obstacle to a rapid transition to renewable energy sources is US tariffs on Chinese goods. Despite claims of concerns about climate change, the Biden administration recently approved a tariff increase on Chinese solar cells to 50% – in addition to a 102% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, which will only strengthen barriers to implementing climate solutions.

Under socialism, a just transition to renewable energy can be quickly achieved in a rich country like the United States. Resources and technologies would be shared across borders, accelerating the transition to an environmentally sustainable world.