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There’s a war brewing over the future of rooftop solar, and Arizona is at ground zero.Pinnacle West Capital Corp., which owns the state’s largest utility, last week said it has formed a third-party group to support candidates for an elected state board that regulates their industry. The move promises to inject $1 million into a race in which SolarCity Corp., a rooftop solar provider, is already planning to spend $2 million through a nonprofit it supports, according to officials from the two groups.It’s the latest twist in a three-year political battle that’s been punctuated by charges of undue influence, an ongoing probe by the U.S. Attorney’s office and $300,000 in threatened state fines. At stake: A board ruling on a request to raise fees and drastically cut how much homeowners are paid for the solar energy they generate. It’s a decision, foes say, with the potential to hamstring a growing renewables industry.“It’s not surprising that you are seeing campaign-style tactics in what should be a wonky policy matter because there is a lot at stake here,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. “The rooftop solar issue has become broadly politicized.”Utilities nationwide are pushing regulators to cut mandated solar payments, an expense they say requires them to boost rates on non-solar customers in order to maintain the grid. Solar supporters, meanwhile, say a big drop in the amount paid to homeowners would undermine the benefits of switching to green power and imperil the industry’s double-digit annual growth.A decision by Arizona, which last year generated the third most solar power in the U.S., could serve as a bellwether for national change at a time when as many as two dozen other states are weighing the same issue, according to a report by the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center. Pinnacle West’s Arizona Public Service unit has had 99 megawatts of home solar installed in its territory this year, an investor presentation filed Thursday shows.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-02/solar-wars-draw-millions-in-cash-in-threat-to-rooftop-industry
Another front opened for those who wish to have taxpayers subsidize the unprofitable solar energy.good riddance if we stop the lunacy of us taxpayers paying for luxury spending like solar power or Tesla cars. Anyone who can afford either does not need a subsidy.
