ALBANY, N.Y. – New York's State Assembly voted earlier this week to restore net metering of community solar power.

The bill would put the Public Service Commission's Value of Distributed Energy Resources, or VDER, plan on hold for three years.

Net metering and VDER are methods of calculating compensation for smaller energy sources such as solar installations for the power they feed into the electric grid.

Bob Rossi, executive director of the New York Sustainable Business Council, says restoring net metering will make solar power accessible to all New Yorkers, including almost half of state residents who rent their homes and can't install solar panels on their property.

"It gives them access to the energy savings by joining a community solar farm, and under VDER it's just not possible for most people," he states.

The PSC says VDER was established to fix a flaw in the net metering system and to support the state's Reforming the Energy Vision strategy.

But according to Rossi, since the plan was rolled out last year, new solar installations have slowed significantly because VDER makes it difficult to calculate a long-term rate of return on the cost.

"Investors are wary of VDER because it's a complex formula, it's not transparent,” he states. “And it's estimated that we're looking at close to a billion dollars in lost investment in solar in New York state."

Rossi says the slowdown in solar installations has also deferred the creation of more than 1,000 solar jobs in upstate New York alone.

Wednesday was officially the last day of the legislative session, and by news time the bill had not come up for a vote in the Senate. But Rossi says even if the Senate doesn't act, there is another way to restore net metering.

"If the bill doesn't go through, we are still looking to our governor and the Public Service Commission to find a solution," he stresses.

The bill also calls on the PSC and Long Island Power Authority to create a fair and accurate way to compensate for distributed energy by 2021.


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OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Proposals in Congress's
Build Back Better plan could speed up and lower the cost of electrifying people's homes.

The budget-reconciliation package currently in front of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. aims to take major climate action. The current plan includes $18 billion in rebates to help people afford electric appliances and fund energy-saving retrofits in their homes.

Melinda Hughes, executive director of the Thurston Climate Action Team in Olympia, acknowledged the changes needed to make infrastructure more climate-friendly are costly.

"To do the retrofits and weatherization that's needed, just in Thurston County alone, we're looking at probably a need of $2 billion, which of course isn't easy to come up with," Hughes admitted. "The federal funding, when it comes through, is a pretty sizable amount."

Lawmakers are currently debating the budget reconciliation package. Opponents say the price tag for the bill, which exceeds $3.5 trillion, is too expensive.

Up to $9 billion dollars in the bill would go to rebates for home electrification, with $5.8 billion dedicated to households with low to moderate incomes.

Mark Kresowik, federal and international policy manager of the carbon-free buildings program for the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit pushing for clean energy, said rebates in the bill reach up to $14,000 to electrify appliances such as heat pumps.

Kresowik noted many low- to moderate-income families have gas infrastructure in their homes right now.

"Twenty-six million households burning fossil fuels inside their homes right now," Kresowik pointed out. "Burning gas and other fossil fuels at your home causes tremendous health problems, it's contributing to climate disruption, and it's costing families far more money than they need to be paying for energy."

Kresowik believes there are many upsides to electrifying appliances in the home.

"These superior electric appliances like heat pumps and induction stoves can lower costs, save lives, increase jobs and provide more comfortable, affordable homes for everyone," Kresowik asserted.

Another component of the bill dedicates $20 billion to electrification, efficiency and health and safety repairs in the affordable and multifamily housing sectors.

DETROIT -- It is National Drive Electric Week, and electric vehicle (EV) advocates and utility companies are working to help get residents and the electrical grid that serves them ready for the rapidly-changing transportation market.

The Big Three auto manufacturers in Detroit; Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, have set a goal for 40% to 50% of their sales to be EVs by 2030.

Jeff Myrom, director of electric vehicle programs for the utility company Consumers Energy, said EVs have major environmental benefits, from reducing greenhouse gases to particulate matter from exhaust, which can affect people with asthma and other respiratory issues.

"Approximately in a year of owning your car, the average person, that electric vehicle has a smaller carbon footprint than a petroleum-fueled vehicle," Myrom explained. "And, of course, every year beyond that of driving just increases that environmental benefit."

This Saturday in Muskegon, the Farmers Market is hosting an electric car show. Myrom noted Consumers Energy will be there if people have questions about home EV charger rebates, or incentives for charging at home during off-peak hours.

The new Bring Your Own Charger program gives credits to Consumers Energy customers who charge their vehicles overnight between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Myrom added EVs take a lot of energy to reach full charge.

"At night, when there's much less electricity being used, the wires and the transformers around your house are, of course, still there," Myrom pointed out. "And they've got a lot more capacity on them than they would in the middle of the day."

He cautioned an increase in energy demand from more people charging vehicles at home could overwhelm the grid and require utilities to make upgrades. So, by charging during off-peak hours, they can keep electricity flowing with fewer upgrades, which saves utility customers' money.

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. -- Oil will soon be flowing through the Line 3 pipeline replacement for northern Minnesota.

Supporters are applauding completion, but opponents continue to speak out, including in the faith community.

Canada-based Enbridge Energy said Line 3 begins operating this Friday, as tribal leaders and environmental groups pledge to keep fighting it.

Julia Nerbonne, executive director of Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, noted projects like these threaten the fabric of a fair and just society, and said a corporation will benefit from the profits, but Minnesotans will be harmed by emissions.

"The climate crisis is just an extension of the sort-of root problems that we have in our society," Nerbonne asserted. "It's a manifestation of greed."

Opponents say Line 3 also threatens the treaty rights of tribal nations for gathering wild rice. Enbridge said the line was built with state-of-the-art, thicker-walled pipe to help ensure safe transport of crude oil. Union leaders in northern Minnesota also noted the construction brought some badly needed jobs to the region.

Nerbonne countered those jobs were only temporary, and argued clean energy represents a more viable way for local economies to thrive. She acknowledged these are difficult conversations for the communities near Line 3, including within congregations.

"Many people who work for Enbridge are seated in those pews," Nerbonne pointed out. "They want to have, you know, a sustainable economy in the Northland. We want that, too."

She added conversations to bring these perspectives together are vital in the debate over the impact of fossil fuels.

The Indigenous environmental group Honor the Earth said while it still plans to pursue ways to block Line 3, it is thankful for the "water protectors" who protested along the construction route this past summer.