National Net Metering: Another Goal for the Tribe

In an earlier blog post, I shared about California AB560 a net metering bill being considered by the California state senate. The bill moved through the California Senate Energy Committee 9-1 yesterday, but still has a couple of critical votes to clear. This is an important bill for at least three reasons that I can think of. First, its passage will further open up the solar residential and commercial market. Second, its passage is essential in order for another bill, AB920 (a bill that is about creating fairness within California’s solar market and about spurring ever greater consumer interest in investing in solar power bringing with it important environmental and economic benefits to the state) to pass, bringing a little more logic and sanity to solar energy policy. Finally, I believe that the nation looks to California as a leader in energy and climate control legislation.

A national net metering policy would make a lot of sense. It sets up the classic debate about Federal government versus state's rights, but the quality of the environment is clearly a national, if not global issue that begs for a national net metering policy. In addition, any energy policy that moves us away from fossil fuel energy is really a national security issue. There are many issues, where I argue passionately for state's and local community rights and against big government, but this is not one of them.

The net metering issue is really quite simple: just think of being able to turn your electricity meter backwards when your solar panels generate power. Why should anyone be afraid of this? Clean energy channeled into the grid, thereby reducing the demand for energy that comes from other sources. We're worried that we'll convert to solar too fast? Now wouldn't that be a nice problem to have?

A national net metering policy would perhaps have the effect of further accelerating the development of a national (intra-national) and international smart grid. Admittedly, this will take time, but in theory a global smart grid will solve one of the largest problems facing the industry: wasted energy...energy generated but not used. Until we develop advanced energy storage technologies or a global smart grid, this will remain a large cost item to the utility industry.

Clearly there are many issues facing us as we all work to make solar power mainstream. National net metering is one of the vital issues. It is important that we keep talking and blogging about it. Let's join together and keep the drums pounding.

Vote Solar: Leading the Solar Tribe

It's time to change our culture, time to change our strategies, time to change our thinking about solar power. There are so many ways that we, as a culture, can change the way we think about solar power. In the weeks and months ahead, I hope to dive into as many new ideas as I can. Your feedback is very important. We are all in this together. The best thing that has happened in blogging about the solar tribe, is meeting new friends and colleagues who are each thinking along the same lines. Please feel free to shoot me your questions and ideas. My email is roy@whole-solar.com

In the last blog, I described the how Berkeley is leading the way in the municipal space, but there are other communities who are attempting to break new ground in this area. We can't have a conversation about the emerging Solar Tribe efforts in the municipal space without talking about a non-profit organization known as the Vote Solar Initiative . Vote Solar's website is a virtual hub of information about the status of these various municipal programs. Vote Solar's mission is to stop global warming, foster economic development and increase energy independence by bringing solar energy into the mainstream. I couldn't have said it better myself. Put in my own words, Vote Solar is part of our Solar Tribe, having earned one of the lead positions.

Working closely with other organizations, such as Solarnation, Vote Solar "is working at the state level to implement the necessary policies to build robust solar markets — and pave the way for a transition to a renewable energy economy." In order to do this, they stay close to solar projects being developed and assist in identifying and removing roadblocks that stand in the way of the wide-scale adoption of solar energy.

Vote Solar has a great website, where you can become a member and financially support their vital work. One of the features of their site is that you can track the progress of various state and municipal solar projects. I'd like to briefly tell you about some of them.

There is no shortage of project in the San Francisco Bay area, In addition to Berkeley, Marin, San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond have all been getting in on the act and staking out success in their respective programs. Back 2001, San Francisco approved a $100 million bond initiative calling for the city to borrow money for solar panels and energy efficiency measures for public buildings. The money that would have gone to buy electricity from power plants instead goes to pay down the debt. Just last week, the City authorized a 10-year solar incentive program for city residents and businesses. Under the program, which is called GoSolarSF, the city offers incentives ranging from $3,000-6,000 for residential installations and up to $10,000 for commercial installations. Program funding is generated by revenues from public power generation sales. In Oakland, Vote Solar worked with the city council too prepare a request for proposal to purchase a megawatt of solar energy (Vote Solar has made available a lot of valuable resource material that other cities can use and not have to "reinvent the wheel").
This last March, Richmond City Council voted unanimously to support a goal of developing 5 megawatts of solar photovoltaics on municipal, commercial and residential buildings by 2010. In Marin, city officials put solar panel systems on their own buildings and have identified local business owners with solar-friendly roof-space, and are educating them about the benefits of solar. And that's just the Bay area!

San Diego, New Mexico, Hawaii and the California State university system each have initiatives calling for the installation of solar power. The point to all of this is that it is up to each one of us to become aware of the efforts and initiatives going on in our communities, use the resources available to the tribe and take the actions to push the progress forward. Solar makes sense in so many different ways and there is an army of us available to help in the push.