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from the defeating-lobbyists-for-non-renewable-energy dept.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports
Gov. Brian Sandoval said [June 5] he intends to sign a bill that supporters expect will bring the rooftop solar industry back to Nevada.
During a ceremony to sign the major bills implementing the two-year, $8.2 billion general fund budget, Sandoval said he will be signing Assembly Bill 405, a bill making it worthwhile for homeowners to invest in rooftop solar and participate in net metering. Net metering is where people with rooftop systems get a credit for the excess energy they return to the grid.
[...] The passage of AB405 has been praised by the solar industry.
A statement from Tesla said the bill will not only bring back solar energy to Nevada and enable the industry to innovate and grow sustainably, it will create thousands of jobs and bring millions of dollars in economic benefits to the state.
"Tesla will begin selling rooftop solar and residential storage products in Nevada, and we look forward to bringing even more jobs to the state in the years ahead to help provide residents with affordable rooftop solar and energy storage choices", the statement said.
GlobeNewswire adds Sunrun Announces Plans to Re-Enter Nevada Solar Market
"The near unanimous bipartisan support for legislation to reinstate net metering and establish a bill of rights for solar customers is a reflection of overwhelming public demand for affordable, clean energy options", said Lynn Jurich, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sunrun. "Thanks to the hard work of Governor Sandoval and Nevada State Legislators, we can now say with confidence that Sunrun is coming back to Nevada."
Nevada's solar industry came to a halt in late 2015 when new rules limited the credit rooftop solar customers would receive for the clean energy they provide to the grid. The abrupt shift in regulations forced Sunrun to cease operations in the state, leading to the elimination of hundreds of local jobs.
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Nevada Regulators Reject Request to Halt New Rooftop Solar Rules
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Thursday June 08 2017, @11:45PM (2 children)
So credit 'em with wholesale rather than retail or don't pay 'em for net credit over actual usage, and put the difference toward infrastructure maintenance. Add an external cost.
The existing utilities are already being subsidized, and in my state at least, seem to be playing financial games with their revenues rather than investing in improving said infrastructure. I have no sympathy.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday June 09 2017, @12:33AM (1 child)
How so? Junkets? Stock Market?
More likely vague complaints about having to pay for electricity I suspect.
The only games I see being played where I live (Western Washington) is lack of right-of-way maintenance. They call out the crews when the wind starts blowing down trees, rather than ahead of time.
This is far different than it was in Alaska, when I lived there. Every summer there was extensive brushing and cutting of power line right of way because doing repairs during a winter storm is out of the question, and entire city sewers have frozen and needed replacement due to not enough hot water flowing during a major power failure.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Tuesday June 13 2017, @04:31PM
They sold off producing assets (hydro dams etc) to a third party and while enjoying the dividends, used having to purchase electricity from the third party as an excuse to keep rates up; now, they are buying back those same assets at a higher price, and are trying to argue the regulators into allowing them to raise rates to fund it. This after being caught inflating their stock price, etc.
Meanwhile last winter, my area (several towns plus surrounding rural area) was without power for almost 12 hours in -20F weather; the previous winter, also in the -20s without power for 2 days, (among other shorter outages).
Interestingly, due to the telecom company replacing the copper lines with fibre (normally a good thing), we also had no communications, even with emergency services during the outages.