Solar net metering bill moving fast
‘It’s great,’ says top Baker aide
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COMPROMISE SOLAR NET METERING LEGISLATION that allows the industry to resume expansion while reining in some costs borne by ratepayers appears likely to hit the governor’s desk by the end of the week and be signed into law shortly after that.
The Massachusetts House voted 152-1 in favor of the legislation on Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to take the bill up Thursday. Matthew Beaton, the governor’s secretary of energy and environmental affairs, said the Baker administration welcomes the bill.
“It’s great. It’s something we can work with. I’m just happy to see something move forward that will bring some level of certainty to the market,” said Beaton, who acknowledged the bill did not mirror what the administration had originally proposed.
The bill lifts the cap on net metering projects from 4 to 7 percent of peak electricity demand for private sector projects and raises it from 5 to 8 percent on public sector projects. The caps had stalled industry expansion, and the agreed-upon increases in cap levels were higher than what both branches had supported.
Under the bill, utilities are allowed to seek regulatory approval for a “monthly minimum reliability contribution,” which would require solar power generators who produce more electricity than they consume to still pay a fee to support the utility’s distribution and transmission network. The legislation contains no cap on the size of the monthly fee.
The legislation also tasks the Baker administration with coming up with a new solar power incentive scheme that lowers costs to ratepayers while spurring construction of solar facilities. The exact words in the bill call for rules that promote “the orderly transition to a stable and self-sustaining solar market at a reasonable cost to ratepayers.”
Most of the special interests involved in the solar debate gave grudging support to the legislation, although there were a few outliers who urged its rejection. The Northeast Clean Energy Council, the Solar Energy Business Association of New England, and the Environmental League of Massachusetts backed the legislation but predicted the new caps would be hit in less than a year and lamented the cut in net metering rates. The solar business association suggested the bill’s shortcoming should be addressed, possibly in the omnibus energy bill due for release this month.
The reaction of Dan Berwick, the executive vice president of business development at Borrego Solar in Lowell, was typical of many in the industry. “This puts solar back to work for now, and we need it,” he said.
National Grid, which pressed lawmakers to slash what it viewed as too-costly solar incentives, issued a statement saying the utility remained concerned about the cost of solar but looked forward to “developing a sustainable solution that provides the necessary incentives to continue growth.”
AIM said the compromise bill lacked any real reform and failed to rein in costs. The business group noted municipalities and other government entities would continue to receive retail rates for net metering, which the group called “a sad case of ‘taking care of your own’ while others pay. Since most actual for-profit businesses will receive the lower credit, this ‘reform’ is basically a tax voted by the Legislature to fund local government.”