Environment California-sponsored bill would allow homeowners, businesses to sell surplus solar power to utility
Novato, CA – Californians could soon make money off of their solar systems if a newly introduced bill becomes law. California State Assemblymember Jared Huffman introduced legislation today that would require utilities to pay individuals for any excess solar power produced at a home, government building or business. Currently, the best consumers can get is a “zero” energy bill. Assembly Bill 1920, which is sponsored by Environment California, was unveiled at the location of California’s largest solar producer, SPG Solar in Novato.
“If California wants to become the Saudia Arabia of the sun, we have to remove all barriers to going solar and we have to be fair for those who have invested their own money in solar power,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate with Environment California. “This bill will encourage not just more solar power but conservation and efficiency as well as owners see a benefit to generating surplus power.”
AB 1920 will enable consumers who produce solar power to get paid by their utility company for any excess electricity they produce on an annual basis. The level of compensation would be set by the Public Utilities Commission and would help the utility meet their renewable energy goals mandated by state law. Under current law, a consumer with solar panels can reduce their utility bill to $0 through what is called “net metering” where they get a credit for all the electricity generated by their system during the day. This credit goes to offset electricity used at night and is calculated on an annual basis. If the consumer generates a surplus amount of power at the end of the year, that electricity goes into the grid for free and they are not compensated. This bill would simply give those consumers compensation for that surplus power at the end of the year.
“This bill idea came to me from several of my constituents,” said Assemblymember Jared Huffman. “I think the idea we chose creates strong benefits for both consumers and the environment.”
AB 1920 also removes the “size to load” restriction in state law that limits the number of solar panels that can be installed on individual buildings.
Environment California’s Bernadette Del Chiaro speaks about need for AB 1920. She joined bill author, Assemblymember Huffman, as well as Dan Thompson of SPG Solar and local residents at the bill unveiling event today in Novato, CA.
