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Monday, July 10th, 2017

Rooftop Solar Dims Under Pressure From Utility Lobbyists

Author:     HIROKO TABUCHI
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     JULY 8, 2017
Link: Rooftop Solar Dims Under Pressure From Utility Lobbyists
Stephan:   It has always been clear  that there would come a moment when a leverage point was reached in a transition from national grid technology to some more localized variant.   It should have been equally obvious of course that unless their was some careful planning to ease the transition the old way would not go without fighting to preserve its profits. Unfortunately we don't have a wellbeing fostering social order, so little planning  or policy implementation has taken place.

Rooftop solar panels at a home in Indiana. The state is among several that have rolled back solar incentives.
Credit Luke Sharrett/The New York Times

Over the past six years, rooftop solar panel installations have seen explosive growth — as much as 900 percent by one estimate.

That growth has come to a shuddering stop this year, with a projected decline in new installations of 2 percent, according to projections from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

A number of factors are driving the reversal, from saturation in markets like California to financial woes at several top solar panel makers.

But the decline has also coincided with a concerted and well-funded lobbying campaign by traditional utilities, which have been working in state capitals across the country to reverse incentives for homeowners to install solar panels.

Utilities argue that rules allowing private solar customers to sell excess power back to the grid at […]

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