Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Sides With Big Utilities, Trim Incentives for Community Solar Projects
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 1 year ago on
June 1, 2024

These community projects can give renters and low-income homeowners a chance to go solar, but the PUC’s action is unlikely to give them the option. (CalMatters/Catch Light Local/Larry Valenzuela)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

California’s utilities regulator has adopted new rules for community solar projects, despite warnings from clean energy advocates that the move will undercut efforts to expand solar power options for low-income customers.

Author Profile Picture

Julie Cart

CalMatters

The state’s biggest utility companies advocated for the new rules.

Community solar projects are generally small-scale, local solar arrays that can serve renters and homeowners who can’t afford to install their own rooftop solar panels. They are one part of the state’s overall strategy to eventually run the power grid entirely by renewable energy.

The Effect on Solar Providers and Residents

The California Public Utilities Commission’s 3-1 ruling preserves and expands programs that will allow any ratepayer to subscribe to a pool of projects and receive a 20% rate reduction, said Commission President Alice Reynolds. But it also reduces future compensation for solar providers and residents.

The commission calculates the benefits derived from distributed, small-scale solar power projects, which provide a “service” by sending clean energy to the power grid and reducing transmission costs by serving nearby communities. Solar developers are compensated for the value of the benefit their project provides.

The formula adopted today essentially reduces the value of distributed small scale renewable energy in the future, providing less of an incentive for new community solar projects to be built.

Uncertainty Surrounding Future Financing and Viability

In the near term, the subsidies and incentives that help promote community solar installation will remain in place, paid for by a recent $250 million grant California received under the federal Solar For All program.

One of the concerns for solar advocates is what happens after that pot of funding runs out and the financial incentive to develop solar evaporates.

“The foundations of a sustainable program should not be built on one-time money,” said Derek Chernow, Western Regional Director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access.

While California has been a leader in promoting solar energy and advocating for an electric grid running carbon-free, the state’s efforts to encourage smaller solar projects has been lackluster. One example of a missed opportunity that critics point to is not requiring community solar projects to have battery storage systems that would allow power to flow after the sun sets.

“We are not done here today, ” Reynolds said, adding the programs can be modified and improved in the future.

With electric bills soaring for many Californians, she also was critical of the impact of “cost shift,” the idea that the subsidies provided to community solar projects are costs borne by all ratepayers. It’s a fundamental fairness argument that the commission has applied in other proceedings to justify reducing subsidies.

But changing or reducing the subsidies and other incentives to a still-maturing industry, advocates argue, will result in fewer solar installations, ultimately cutting out low-income ratepayers from the benefit of renewable energy. Community access solar programs are supposed to ensure that at least 51% of the energy derived from the projects serve disadvantaged customers.

Critics Question California’s Clean Energy Leadership

Advocates have been bemoaning what they say is California’s lagging clean energy leadership and criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last week delivered a keynote speech at the Vatican Climate Summit, for not holding the state’s powerful utilities and oil companies to account.

The commission’s community solar decision was quickly added to the list of what critics say is a concerning pattern of backtracking on critical renewable energy policies.

“The CPUC’s recent series of decisions threatens to unravel California’s clean energy progress,” said the Solar Energy Industries Association in a statement. “It’s past time for Governor Newsom and state leaders to reign in the commission before it inflicts more damage on customers and the state’s clean energy economy.”

As it had in earlier closely-watched decisions, the commission heard from a myriad of organizations, including the solar industry and environmental justice groups, advocating for programs that would expand access to clean energy and reduce power bills.

There was scant public comment during the morning hearing but at least two state legislators voiced their opposition to the proposal. Assemblymember Christopher Ward noted that the updated proposal had only been released this week and decried it as “fatally flawed.”

“This does not reflect the intent of the bill,” Ward, a Democrat from San Diego, told commissioners, referring to legislation he authored that required the commission to review its rules. The unintended result of today’s decision, he said, would be to discourage new projects.

An aide to Sen. Josh Becker, a Menlo Park Democrat, read a letter from the lawmaker saying that experts doubt the policies will expand access to clean energy.

In extensive remarks, Commissioner Darcie Houck outlined several concerns about the decision, including her view that it didn’t go far enough to benefit ratepayers in low-income communities. Much of the commissioner’s dissent centered on provisions that she said will disincentivize adoption of solar and won’t allow for a “ just and equitable energy transition.”

About the Author

Julie Cart is a projects reporter on CalMatters’ environment team who focuses on wildfires and natural resources. Her projects have included an examination of the state’s push to build massive offshore wind farms, a deep dive into the crisis of PTSD and suicide among California firefighters as wildfires escalate, and the vulnerability of the state’s coastlines to rising sea levels. 

About CalMatters

CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

DON'T MISS

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

DON'T MISS

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

DON'T MISS

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

DON'T MISS

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

DON'T MISS

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

DON'T MISS

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

UP NEXT

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

UP NEXT

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

UP NEXT

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

UP NEXT

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

UP NEXT

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

14 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

15 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

15 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

15 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

16 hours ago

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

16 hours ago

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

16 hours ago

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

17 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

17 hours ago

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

17 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday conceded to state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary election for New York C...

11 hours ago

Former New York governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks during the primary election night rally in New York City, U.S., June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
11 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

People hold “I Voted” stickers on Democratic primary day in New York, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. After months of campaigning, caustic debates and a deluge of attack ads, the consequential Democratic primary for mayor of New York City comes to a head on Tuesday as voters stream to the ballot box in blistering heat. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)
12 hours ago

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

14 hours ago

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

President Donald Trump arrives at a dinner for NATO heads of state and governments hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
14 hours ago

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

A 180-acre wildfire in Cantua Creek was fully contained Tuesday afternoon, with CalFire crediting nearby roads for helping crews quickly stop the Monterey Fire from spreading. (CalFire)
15 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

15 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

15 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

California Fertility Clinic Bombing Investigation
16 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend