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Started By
Message
Louisiana guts net metering for Solar which kills the industry in Louisiana
Posted on 9/15/19 at 8:54 pm
Posted on 9/15/19 at 8:54 pm
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
Killed an opportunity to diversify Louisiana’s economy and now jobs will be lost.
LINK
Killed an opportunity to diversify Louisiana’s economy and now jobs will be lost.
quote:
Once upon a time, Louisiana had some of the best support for rooftop solar in the nation. The combination of a 50% state tax rebate and the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) on top of the foundation of retail-rate net metering made for some of the best economics for rooftop solar in the nation. But Louisiana is also a state that is not known for its thriving democracy, with the oil, gas and utility sectors firmly in control of politics. Thus it is not surprising that the form of energy democracy that rooftop solar represents was on shaky ground. After the 50% tax credit was capped in 2015 and fully subscribed in 2016, installations fell sharply. But what is far more important is that as a result of yesterday’s decision at the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC), as of January 1, 2020, utility customers who are foolhardy enough to install solar will be paid a 12-month calculation of wholesale rates for the power they generate and export to the grid on an instantaneous basis, while buying power from the utility at retail.
This is a big departure from the monthly “netting” of import and export under retail-rate net metering and will greatly undermine the economics of rooftop solar for many customers. The final vote at the LPSC yesterday to implement this policy was 3-2, with Commissioner Skrmetta (R) joined by two relatively recent additions to the LPSC: Craig Greene (R) and Mike Francis (R). The commission’s two Democrats, Lambert Boissiere III and Foster Campbell, both voted against the move.
The Alliance for Affordable Energy, which has advocated for renewable energy in the state for more than a decade, blasted the decision, with Executive Director Logan Atkinson putting this in the context of larger political problems in the state. It is always stunning to see how hard communities and workers have to fight for what is right, while corporations are handed golden tickets in Louisiana. The unsupported canard of “subsidies” from net metering in Louisiana doesn’t remotely compare to the real subsidies ratepayers are paying to prop up uneconomic gas, coal, and nuclear plants owned by utilities. As explored in a previous article, Skrmetta has been in conflict with the solar industry for many years, and may have pushed to remove net metering at this time to help to derail the solar industry from funding an opponent in 2020. Industry impacts
Solar installers roundly condemned the ruling, which they say could lead to layoffs in the state’s 3,000-strong solar workforce. Per Tom Neyhart, the CEO of PosiGen: Today’s vote was a job killer and an insult to the people of our state, Instead of moving Louisiana forward, the Public Service Commission – fueled by the utility companies – moved Louisiana backwards. Jeffrey Cantin, the president and owner of Solar Alternatives and a board member of the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association (GSREIA), notes that while the new move puts Louisiana behind even neighboring Mississippi in terms of its compensation to owners of PV systems, that it will not end the state’s market. Cantin says that this will hit the most energy-efficient homes the hardest, but that solar will still be viable for those that use the most power mid-day, including retirees and those with inefficient homes where the air conditioning is running 24/7.
He notes that this move actually incentivizes those adding solar to use more power mid-day, when demand is already intense. “This is going to make things worse for the grid,” Cantin told pv magazine. There are still opportunities for home and business owners to get in under the old system of retail-rate net metering, but in order to do so they must have a fully installed system and have filed an interconnection application by the end of the year.
LINK
This post was edited on 9/15/19 at 9:05 pm
Posted on 9/15/19 at 8:56 pm to TegrityFarms
Louisiana gonna Louisiana
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:04 pm to TegrityFarms
Solar is more expensive than fossil, nuclear, hydro unless it is subsidized
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:12 pm to TegrityFarms
if it ain't oil LA don't care.
Jesus this state is depressing.
just once, I'd love to see them turn the corner and seize and opportunity.
Jesus this state is depressing.
just once, I'd love to see them turn the corner and seize and opportunity.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:19 pm to Bawcephus
quote:
Bawcephus
quote:
if it ain't oil LA don't care.
Jesus this state is depressing.
We need a name change over here.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:21 pm to Bawcephus
quote:
Jesus this state is depressing.
just once, I'd love to see them turn the corner and seize and opportunity.
Why should the utility be forced to buy electricity at retail rates from a supplier?
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:22 pm to Golfer
quote:
Why should the utility be forced to buy electricity at retail rates from a supplier?
Why should we be stuck with one electricity supplier?
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:28 pm to brass2mouth
quote:
Why should we be stuck with one electricity supplier?
That’s a separate discussion.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:31 pm to TegrityFarms
So what are you asking, that the rest of all the customers subsidize and prop up solar? Should it stand on its own feet economically?
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:32 pm to hubreb
quote:
Solar is more expensive than fossil, nuclear, hydro unless it is subsidized
They are all subsidized.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:34 pm to hubreb
quote:
Solar is more expensive than fossil, nuclear, hydro unless it is subsidized
Fossil is legally subsidized by the state.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:34 pm to TegrityFarms
quote:
The final vote at the LPSC yesterday to implement this policy was 3-2, with Commissioner Skrmetta (R) joined by two relatively recent additions to the LPSC: Craig Greene (R) and Mike Francis (R).
The only thing worse than these two would be electing Crain to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:36 pm to MrLSU
If you want to do something with the La Supreme Court you need to get rid of Jeff Hughes.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:36 pm to kew48
quote:
Should it stand on its own feet economically?
No emerging industry stands on its own feet.
Ignorant to think that it should.
Without mentioning the environment tell me why fossil fuel energy is better than solar in the long run. Realize saying it is cheaper is wrong.
This post was edited on 9/15/19 at 9:37 pm
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:36 pm to TegrityFarms
And stuff like this is why Louisiana will always remain a shithole. Backwards politics
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:39 pm to TegrityFarms
quote:
The combination of a 50% state tax rebate and the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) on top of the foundation of retail-rate net metering made for some of the best economics for rooftop solar in the nation.
With all this bullshite, the State of Louisiana was actually paying something like $12,000 of the $14,000 it would cost me to install solar panels on my house.
O&G and plants get tax breaks, Solar requires tax cash to be sustainable currently. I’m all for tax money and private donations funding research to make the technology more profitable/economical, but what was required to make solar even somewhat attractive beyond virtue signaling was ludicrous and should not have been paid for with state nor federal tax dollars
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:39 pm to canyon critter
quote:
And stuff like this is why Louisiana will always remain a shithole. Backwards politics
Will someone explain how this is backwards politics? I’m all for reforming the state, but in the climate of public utilities I don’t like the idea of the retailer being forced to buy their product at retail rates just because of its source.
This post was edited on 9/15/19 at 9:42 pm
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:40 pm to canyon critter
I'm pretty sure Texas does the same thing.
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:43 pm to fightin tigers
quote:
Without mentioning the environment tell me why fossil fuel energy is better than solar in the long run. Realize saying it is cheaper is wrong.
Because the portability, storage, and energy density found in fossil fuels far outweighs the same characteristics in solar.
Not to mention the on demand capability of fossil fuel sources (ie, can still produce energy at night and on cloudy/rainy days).
And this is before we even get to the rare earth metal mines outside the US and the environmental impact they are having on their surrounding regions.
This post was edited on 9/15/19 at 9:48 pm
Posted on 9/15/19 at 9:45 pm to Oilfieldbiology
Long run was the key term you missed.
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