Vermont committee hears sharply divided testimony on S.50 change to net‑metering expedited registration

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee spent the afternoon on April 8 taking testimony on S.50, a bill that would raise the size threshold for expedited net‑metering registration from 15 kilowatts to 25 kilowatts for small ground‑mounted systems.

The bill’s proponents — local solar contractors and developers — told the committee the change reflects technological gains and customer demand for larger systems to serve heat pumps and electric vehicles. Andrew Cunningham, director of sales and business development for Southern Vermont Solar, said, “I think it is a excellent step in the right direction.”

Supporters argued that modern panels produce more energy in the same footprint than a decade ago, that many homeowners now add heat pumps and electric‑vehicle charging, and that the higher cap would let small installers deploy systems faster. Jared Cobb, general manager of Catamount Solar, said the measure would “allow us to deploy more clean energy, to respond to the climate crisis, to help Vermonters with their utility bills,” and described his worker‑owned cooperative’s local footprint and customer base.

Municipal utility and operations witnesses urged caution. Brian Evans, village manager for the…