October 13, 2022
Leading North Bay Solar Energy Installer Joins the Fight to Save Solar
Representatives from SolarCraft, a leading solar installer in the North Bay for over thirty-five years, joined over a thousand solar supporters gathered at the state capitol for an "Everyone Under the Sun Festival and Rally" to celebrate California's clean energy progress and urge Governor Newsom to keep solar growing for California energy consumers in all communities.
SolarCraft joined solar defenders to tell the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to reject the plans of corporate utilities like PG&E to impose high costs on households with rooftop solar panels: large monthly fees to connect to the grid and much lower payment for electricity they sell back to the grid.
Soon the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expected to release a new proposal that will determine the fate of rooftop solar from now on. There will then be a 30-day public comment period, followed by a final vote of the five-person commission.
Working to Stop PG&E Attempts to Crush Solar
Solar is currently growing fastest in working and middle class neighborhoods and helping to advance California's race to clean energy. That progress is threatened by utility-backed efforts in the California Public Utilities Commission to reduce competition by making solar unaffordable for most consumers through changes to a popular state policy called "net energy metering." Net energy metering makes rooftop solar more affordable for consumers of all types by crediting them for the excess energy they produce and share with their neighbors.
Currently 1.5 million consumers use net metering, including thousands of public schools, churches and affordable housing developments, and it is the main driver of California's world-renowned rooftop solar market.
SolarCraft's Ted Walsh & Darren Kelly at the Capitol gearing up for the Rally to
Defend Rooftop Solar, October 11, 2022
Some Good News for Solar
The Climate Bill (aka Inflation Reduction Act) has officially been signed into law as the most significant investment America has ever made in its climate and energy future. The solar industry set a goal to account for 30% of all U.S. electricity generation by 2030, and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act sets us on a path to reach that target with lots of great savings for renewable energy and electric upgrade projects.
For starters, the long-standing Investment Tax Credit was raised to 30% for residential and commercial solar and also battery installations. That's an immediate 8% savings compared to the 22% it was going to drop to next year. To put that in perspective, if a residential solar installation costs $30,000, the 30% tax credit takes $9,000 right off the top. This is an additional $2,400 thanks to passing the new bill. If you happened to install solar this year (2022), you too will be able to claim the 30% tax credit.
