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NEWS: Florida legislature considers ending solar net metering (Nov.23.2021)

Steve_S

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Florida legislature considers ending solar net metering​

By Kelsey Misbrener | November 23, 2021

Legislation filed yesterday in the Florida Legislature aims to end net metering for rooftop solar customers, effectively shutting down this key sector of the state economy and undermining energy freedom for tens of thousands of Floridians.

Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley introduced SB 1024, which aims to “revise and provide legislative findings relating to the redesign of net metering to avoid cross-subsidization of electric service costs between classes of ratepayers” and require the Public Service Commission to propose new net metering rules that comply with specified criteria by a certain date; while authorizing certain customers who own or lease renewable generation before a specified date to remain under the existing net metering rules for a specified time.

National and state solar advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject this legislation and allow the state’s rooftop solar market to continue growing.

“This is a tired tactic that utilities have used to maintain their monopoly grip on electricity markets. Net metering is a popular program that gives people the right to choose the energy that works for them, provides benefits to all ratepayers and creates thousands of energy jobs across Florida. The bill is another of a long line of cynical efforts carried out in the state of Florida at the behest of monopoly utilities to the detriment of Florida residents,” said Will Giese, southeast regional director for SEIA, in a statement. “Stripping Floridians of their right to choose solar is simply bad policy. The bill does not consider the many benefits that solar provides to all ratepayers and it will weaken one of the fastest-growing sectors in Florida’s economy. Florida has the second-largest solar workforce in the country and ranks third among states for installed solar capacity. The state is poised to maintain its solar leadership in the years ahead, but this bill would stamp out that economic growth just as it is ramping up.”

Justin Vandenbroeck, president of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association (FlaSEIA), said his organization is still analyzing the full impact of the legislation.

“Initial modeling suggests this plan has the potential to set the rooftop solar industry back nearly a decade, erasing thousands of jobs, ending consumer choice and eliminating savings, along with the resiliency benefits that rooftop solar offers to Floridians,” Vandenbroeck said in a statement. “We look forward to working with state policymakers to protect local jobs, consumer choice and the economic development produced through the vibrant solar market in the Sunshine State.”

News item from SEIA

SOURCE: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.c...islature-considers-ending-solar-net-metering/
 
I enjoy net metering in Pennsylvania but realistically, it's not a sustainable program. Without revenue to maintain and upgrade the grid, power transmission companies will eventually go bankrupt.
 
Some places are rolling back Feed In Tariff rates (cancelling / changing contracts), others are adding connection fees and more nonsense.
Yet More Arguments to get OFF Grid and away from Stupid.
It may not be as stupid as it first appears.
We will eventually get 2 electrical bills. One for infrastructure that each residence and business will pay, irrespective if connected or not, and the 2nd for actual usage. The only caveat to this is the 2nd bill may actually be dropped altogether as cost of solar generation reaches zero value!
 
"Sixteen state-level studies, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, have disproven the cost-shift argument, as has a national study, completed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Berkeley found that 40 of the 43 states and Washington D.C. with net metering programs have a negligible cost increase attributed to solar, and that the cost picture remains this way until solar penetration meets 10% of a state’s generation portfolio."

 
Phht please that old argument is such hogwash most won't even mention it anymore...
I disagree. What's happening is we're trying to do new things the old way. It's the same as people driving an EV on roads that are paid for with a per gallon gasoline tax. The whole process of how infrastructure is funded and maintained has to be changed, not just the small part of it that benefits a select few.
 
Without revenue to maintain and upgrade the grid, power transmission companies will eventually go bankrupt.
Nope. This is just a ploy to slow PV to homeowners while they roll out solar farms and charge us to do so. Seems like they're trying to cut out small renewables. Besides, the government won't let them fail anyway, they'd just levy even more taxes.

I don't mind paying my fair share of the grid maintenance and that's a separate line item from the "power" consumed/generated on my bill anyway.

If there was solar on every rooftop (and possibly some off-shore wind) with inexpensive ESS I'd expect fossil fuel power generation to die out.
I agree with Steve, if they did away with net metering I'd increase my battery and go off-grid. Then they'd lose that revenue from me and it would eventually force them to enact a separate grid tax. It also means I couldn't help my community by participating in a VPP and that would be a shame.
 
I disagree. What's happening is we're trying to do new things the old way. It's the same as people driving an EV on roads that are paid for with a per gallon gasoline tax. The whole process of how infrastructure is funded and maintained has to be changed, not just the small part of it that benefits a select few.
Except most road construction and maintenance is not paid for with gasoline taxes.
 
The bill says existing customers keep net metering
Nope... helps to read the fine print:

Any public utility customer who owns or leases renewable generation that is in service before January 1, 2023, pursuant to a standard interconnection agreement offered by a public utility, shall be granted 10 years to continue to use the net metering rate design and rates that applied before the revised net metering rule was adopted under paragraph

It's the same as people driving an EV on roads that are paid for with a per gallon gasoline tax.
Florida charges an EV road-tax with Car registration fees for EVs.
 
EV Plates in some places get an extra GOUGE fee for the plate. for "road maintenance fees"
Public Chargers (ANY) can add a couple of "cents" per kWh which can (some places do this already, EU/Asia) be used towards Road Maintenance fees. which is far more equitable all around. 3rd party charging installed in residences (parking lots/garages) can also do this and is being done already in a few locales (not North America)

No further views or comments from me on this.
Have at it kids.
 
Our utility company did this last year, and I'm grandfathered for 10 years.

I figure that by the time the new rules take effect for me, the lithium ion batteries should be far cheaper.. at which point, I'll install about 200 kWh's of storage and tell the power company to come get their meter.

I suspect I'm not the only one..
 

Florida legislature considers ending solar net metering​

By Kelsey Misbrener | November 23, 2021

Legislation filed yesterday in the Florida Legislature aims to end net metering for rooftop solar customers, effectively shutting down this key sector of the state economy and undermining energy freedom for tens of thousands of Floridians.

Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley introduced SB 1024, which aims to “revise and provide legislative findings relating to the redesign of net metering to avoid cross-subsidization of electric service costs between classes of ratepayers” and require the Public Service Commission to propose new net metering rules that comply with specified criteria by a certain date; while authorizing certain customers who own or lease renewable generation before a specified date to remain under the existing net metering rules for a specified time.

National and state solar advocates are calling on lawmakers to reject this legislation and allow the state’s rooftop solar market to continue growing.

“This is a tired tactic that utilities have used to maintain their monopoly grip on electricity markets. Net metering is a popular program that gives people the right to choose the energy that works for them, provides benefits to all ratepayers and creates thousands of energy jobs across Florida. The bill is another of a long line of cynical efforts carried out in the state of Florida at the behest of monopoly utilities to the detriment of Florida residents,” said Will Giese, southeast regional director for SEIA, in a statement. “Stripping Floridians of their right to choose solar is simply bad policy. The bill does not consider the many benefits that solar provides to all ratepayers and it will weaken one of the fastest-growing sectors in Florida’s economy. Florida has the second-largest solar workforce in the country and ranks third among states for installed solar capacity. The state is poised to maintain its solar leadership in the years ahead, but this bill would stamp out that economic growth just as it is ramping up.”

Justin Vandenbroeck, president of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association (FlaSEIA), said his organization is still analyzing the full impact of the legislation.

“Initial modeling suggests this plan has the potential to set the rooftop solar industry back nearly a decade, erasing thousands of jobs, ending consumer choice and eliminating savings, along with the resiliency benefits that rooftop solar offers to Floridians,” Vandenbroeck said in a statement. “We look forward to working with state policymakers to protect local jobs, consumer choice and the economic development produced through the vibrant solar market in the Sunshine State.”

News item from SEIA

SOURCE: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.c...islature-considers-ending-solar-net-metering/
and on the other side kansas did this

 
Big Oil COs dont want to loose their $$.. Here in LA, NEM was almost done away with 2 years Ago.. But instead, we lost 1 to 1 NEM. Now, we sell at a much, much lower rate than what we buy.
 
Our utility company did this last year, and I'm grandfathered for 10 years.

I figure that by the time the new rules take effect for me, the lithium ion batteries should be far cheaper.. at which point, I'll install about 200 kWh's of storage and tell the power company to come get their meter.

I suspect I'm not the only one..
I hope the lower battery prices turn out to be true but...
I get a nagging feeling that we may be approaching a low in the battery prices right now. Even if the Governments across the Globe are 50% as committed to lowering carbon emissions as they claim to be, it's still going to cause a mass rush on PV panels and Batteries for the next 20 years. I see prices dropping a bit more in the next few years but then as demand goes past supply it's going to start to reverse. Also once Governments see the fuel tax revenues start decreasing they are going to find ways to bridge the loss by extracting money from the green energy sector.
 
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