vermont expands solar net metering, gives finger to alec
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2 Apr 201411:53 AM
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Vermont expands solar net metering, givesfinger to ALEC
By John Upton
Tim Patterson
Bad news for the polluter-funded American Legislative Exchange
Council, but wonderful news for the planet.
In 2012 and 2013, ALEC tried to roll back states’ renewable energy
standards, and failed. Now it’s trying to roll back solar net-metering
programs, which let homeowners sell electricity from their rooftop
panels into the grid, and that campaign isn’t going so well either.
Case in point: In Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) just signed a bill
that will expand the state’s net-metering program, allowing solar panel
owners to sell more of their clean electricity into the grid.
The bill will nearly quadruple the size of a cap on the amount of solar
power that utilities must be willing to buy from their customers. It also
creates pilot projects that could allow for solar projects as large as 5
megawatts to be built under the scheme. The AP reports:
Alternative energy proponents pushed for the increased cap
after some Vermont utilities had reached the 4 percent cap and
stopped taking new net-metered power.
“Our success exceeded our wildest dreams,” Shumlin said
before signing the bill into law, noting that since he took office
in 2011 the state had quadrupled the amount of solar energy
on the state’s electric grid.
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Source New Vermont law expands use ofrenewable energy by encouraging smallpower projects, APSolar Industry Defeats ALEC NetMetering Attacks In Utah & Washington,CleanTechnica
Vermont’s increased use of alternative energy has helped the
state to become the nation’s per-capita leader in the number of
solar energy jobs.
The new law is being lauded by renewable energy advocates.
“Thousands of Vermonters have already gone solar, and this law will
allow thousands more, of all walks of life, to be part of building a clean
energy legacy for our state,” the Vermont Public Interest Research
Group said in a statement. “While we have more work to do, this law
is a good next step.”
Meanwhile, the solar industry recently helped defeat ALEC-
championed efforts in Washington and Utah to wind back the net-
metering programs in those states. And we told you in November
about a similar success in Arizona.
“In state after state, overwhelming public support for rooftop solar
continues to trump multi-million dollar attacks from utilities … and
ALEC,” an exec with solar company Sunrun told CleanTechnica.
John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts
articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader
questions, tips, and incoherent rants: [email protected].
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Join the discussion…
• Reply •
Nelson • 6 hours ago
The Koch brothers must be upset, and that is a good thing for the rest of us.
2
• Reply •
Solar-Power-Now.com • 4 hours ago
Well good news for homeowners in Vermont, their air quality, and the solar power industry as a whole. Power to the people!Literally.
2
• Reply •
Walter Jeffries • 4 hours ago
Our local electric "Co-op" fought hard against this and tried to stop the net metering. I was rather shocked because for years theyhad promoted net metering. But when it came time to do the next incremental expansion of the program they were totally negativeon it.
• Reply •
Frozen Goat • an hour ago Walter Jeffries
It would be very interesting to know why they were initially for it and are now against it. Net metering makes alot of senseas long as it's priced appropriately for the market at the time it is produced and infrastructure costs are appropriatelyallocated.
• Reply •
Polluter Watch • 3 hours ago
Well done Vermont! In a state where government is still local and relevant enough that Town Meeting Day continues to exist, acorporate shill's stinky politics is usually sniffed out pretty quickly. Certainly ALEC's maligned priorities for the 1% stand out frompeople's actual needs.
Now the same trend needs to continue in other states, where Koch/Searle/Scaife et al money continues to plague politics andthrows the working person under the bus.
• Reply •
CycloneFarms • 27 minutes ago
Y eah, go ahead and pat yourselves on the back.
But when the local utility can't predict load growth because of federally subsidized solar panel programs, try not to cry when theyfile a rate case with the state!
I guess you could just go off, grid, except you can't if you want modern conveniences like an electric stove and maybe even airconditioning. Or power that actually works 24-7.
• Reply •
Bung0 • 9 minutes ago CycloneFarms
Welllll... if you go off-grid, you size the system accordingly such that you indeed have power 24-7. #dopey
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