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Solar industry and advocates tell commission rooftop solar reduces system costs and serves middle-income Californians
Summary
Brad Hefner of the California Solar and Storage Association and Dave Rosenfeld of the Solar Rights Alliance told commissioners that rooftop solar reduces grid costs and that many solar adopters are middle- and working-class households.
Brad Hefner, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association, and Dave Rosenfeld, executive director of the Solar Rights Alliance, told the Little Hoover Commission on March 27 that rooftop solar reduces the need for remote generation and lowers long-distance transmission costs.
Nut graf: Solar witnesses and advocates argued that rooftop solar has displaced as much as 15,000 megawatts of capacity that otherwise would have required utility investment and that many rooftop customers still pay substantial monthly utility bills, meaning conventional “cost-shift” analyses understate rooftop solar’s net benefit.
What witnesses said: Dr. McCann and Hefner presented analysis that compared historical load forecasts with actual metered peaks and rooftop additions; McCann said the difference between forecasted peak and actual metered peak over the last two decades matches roughly 15,000 megawatts of rooftop solar additions. Dave Rosenfeld cited Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demographic analysis, saying roughly 60% of rooftop solar customers are middle- and working-class and a little more than half are people of color.
On the cost-shift debate: Witnesses disputed a recent Public Advocate Office claim of an $8.5 billion “cost shift” away from solar owners. McCann said that when the full monthly bill paid by solar customers is included, rooftop solar customers collectively produce around $1.5 billion in savings for other customers — reversing that particular claim. Rosenfeld said solar customers continue to pay fixed and other charges and that ‘‘solar is just another form of energy conservation.’’
Industry and installers: Witnesses said sales plunged after CPUC changes to net metering and net billing in 2022–23. Rosenfeld and others told commissioners the reduction in rooftop installations has put industry jobs at risk.
Ending: Solar advocates asked the commission to press regulators to account for whole-bill payments and to consider rooftop solar as a market-driven resource that avoids transmission investments; the commission signaled it will invite regulators and utilities for a future panel to test those claims.
