A study released today by the Vote Solar Initiative finds that net-metered rooftop solar will provide more than $92 million in annual benefits to ratepayers of California's three investor-owned utilities.
Net metering provides rooftop solar customers with utility bill credits for the surplus clean energy that their solar systems feed onto the electric grid. The incentive program has been a key driver of the rapid expansion of solar across California's rooftops, with two-thirds of home solar installations now occurring in low- and median-income neighborhoods, according to a July 2012 California Solar Initiative report.
The study comes as the state's investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric) increasingly criticize net metering. Net metering proponents say this is because net metering reduces the utilities' ability to justify the capital investment infrastructure projects that earn them a guaranteed profit.
The study was commissioned by the Vote Solar Initiative and was authored by consultant and former California Public Utilities Commission advisor Tom Beach of Crossborder Energy. Using a CPUC-approved economic model and data from solar customers, the study assesses the overall impacts of net metering to ratepayers in territories covered by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric.
It finds that the financial benefits of net-metered power outweigh the costs, with a total net benefit value of more than $92 million annually by the time the state's net metering program is fully subscribed. Benefits include: savings on expensive and polluting conventional power, reduced investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure, reduced electricity lost during transportation over power lines as net metered solar's surplus energy is sent to the grid locally, and savings on the cost of meeting carbon reduction and renewable energy requirements.
In addition to the bill-saving ratepayer benefits outlined in the study, solar provides environmental, public health and economic benefits. Because of policies like net metering, California is home to a fast-maturing solar industry, which now employs more than 43,000 Californians and has attracted more than $10 billion in private investment.
Solar adoption has helped school districts and other public agencies survive steep budget cuts, with savings from solar installations freeing up funds to retain teachers, educational programs, and important government services. Over the next 30 years, schools and public agencies will save more than $2.5 billion on energy bills via net-metered solar systems, the report says.
