SAN FRANCISCO - Groups working to battle climate change warn that rooftop solar and energy-efficiency programs could be in big trouble if the California Public Utilities Commission votes Thursday to revamp the way the agency evaluates them.

The groups have claimed that
changes to what's known as the "Avoided Costs Calculator" will cut the value of rooftop solar in half, and worry this could lead to a cut in reimbursements - or extra fees - for families who install rooftop solar panels.

Laura Neish, executive director of the nonprofit 350 Bay Area, said she thinks this could be "the beginning of the end" for small-scale solar.

"When homeowners are not adequately compensated," she said, "they will stop putting solar on their roofs, which will diminish the amount of relatively cheap distributed energy, and eliminate the benefits of that from the grid of the future."

The Avoided Costs Calculator is used to evaluate the cost and benefits of any given program. The commission normally only allows big changes to the ACC in even-numbered years. This proposal is on the consent calendar with no debate - and opponents want it pulled from the agenda. Last week, the state's three biggest utilities sent a letter to the commission, arguing the proposed changes are minor and warranted, and that they'd allow for more accurate projections.

Neish said she believes the utilities want these changes because they favor large-scale solar projects that bring a guaranteed rate of return.

"They are doing what they are being incented to do," she said, "and they are fighting against these much smaller distributed projects because they do not benefit from it directly."

Laura Deehan, state director of Environment California, a group that just published a report on rooftop solar, argued that the state needs to protect net-metering programs, not put up roadblocks.

"We're living with the consequences of global warming right now," she said, "and so, getting to a 100% renewable-energy future has to happen as fast as possible, and rooftop solar and energy efficiency are some of the best tools we have to solve this problem."

This fall, the CPUC is set to consider a proposal to charge people who have solar on their rooftops an extra $50 to $100 a month, ostensibly to help pay for the power lines that criss-cross the state. Opponents of that plan are gathering signatures on petitions at savecaliforniasolar.org.

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package.

Assembly Bill 1866 would increase fees on 40,000 idle oil wells and accelerate cleanup.

Nayamin Martinez, executive director of the Central California Environmental Justice Network, said right now, companies often pay fees without actually cleaning up "orphan wells."

"The authorities are not proactively going and inspecting these sites," Martinez pointed out. "We have a program that goes to do inspections on active and abandoned uncapped wells, and we have found that many of them are leaking."

The Western States Petroleum Association argued current regulations are sufficient and companies are making progress plugging their idle wells.

A second measure, Assembly Bill 3233, would protect local communities' rights to limit oil drilling. It comes in response to a lawsuit from Chevron, eliminating a part of 'Measure Z' in Monterey County, which would have required companies to phase out oil drilling in that area.

Raquel Mason, senior legislative manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said oil wells leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and release other toxic substances into the air and water.

"Those pollutants that are coming off these wells can have different health-harming impacts like respiratory issues, different types of cancer, headaches, nosebleeds," Mason outlined. "We hear about too often from community members who are living near these types of facilities."

A third bill would fine oil companies in the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles $10,000 a month for operating low-producing wells near local neighborhoods.

Colorado's second-largest electricity provider, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, projects new federal clean energy funding will lower costs to Tri-State ratepayers by $420 million over the next 20 years.

Jeremy Fisher, principal adviser for climate and energy at the Sierra Club, said many urban customers are already benefiting from less costly wind and solar power, largely generated in wide-open, rural spaces.

"While that can be great for jobs and has been fantastic economic development opportunities, a lot of rural customers haven't actually seen those direct benefits accrue to their bills," Fisher pointed out.

Tri-State is one of 16 rural electric cooperatives selected to get a chunk of more than $7 billion allocated through the Biden administration's Empowering Rural America Program, the largest investment in rural electrification since the Great Depression.

The cooperative plans to replace 1,100 megawatts of coal-fired electricity with wind, solar and battery storage. The plan would also cut nearly six tons of climate pollution, the equivalent of tailpipe pollution from 1.4 million gas-powered cars, each year.

Tri-State is set to receive up to $679 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-directed program. Fisher noted the utility has committed up to $70 million to support Moffat County communities, including the town of Craig, where Unit Three of Tri-State's coal plant will close by 2028.

"I think Tri-State has been a leading entity in really pursuing ways of engaging with the communities that are impacted by those closures," Fisher acknowledged. "To ensure that there's employment benefit and financial benefit flowing to those communities."

Fisher believes the program will ensure electric co-ops like Tri-State can remain competitive and resilient, and keep good-paying clean energy jobs in rural communities.

"Leading utilities are stepping up to the plate and have put forward ambitious plans that will be transformational to those communities, and transformational to these energy systems," Fisher concluded.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has been awarded a grant to cut climate pollution.

It is part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Pollution Reductions grant program. The funding will be spent on installing electric vehicle charging stations at government buildings around the reservation.

Raheim Eleazer, environmental liaison for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, hopes to install at least a dozen charging stations. He said the funding will help reduce emissions in other ways.

"We're also hoping to electrify some of the governmental fleet vehicles," Eleazer explained. "We're hoping to do 13 of those whether it's hybrid or fully electric vehicles."

Another project for the grant funding involves helping 34 people living on the reservation convert or support their gas-powered cars through a rebate program. He pointed out reducing pollution from transportation has substantial health benefits. Connecticut's worsening air quality has increased asthma rates for Mashantucket Pequot Tribe members. While the grant runs for five years, each project has its own timeline.

Feedback to the grant has been resoundingly positive. Eleazer pointed out electric-vehicle charging stations are a big focus for the community. He thinks the new charging stations will encourage people to buy electric vehicles and added it is only the start, since the comprehensive climate action plan outlines plans for other renewable energy projects.

"The possibility or the interest of producing or generating energy from renewable resources such as solar," Eleazer suggested. "I know I have personally been looking into potentially thermal networking for the reservation."

He emphasized creating a microgrid is also an option with interest being shown by the community in diversifying energy generation, because he argued using one renewable energy source is not sustainable in New England.


get more stories like this via email