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In the wake of last year's energy crisis, Governor Davis signed a bill that would allow solar systems up to a megawatt in size (about enough electricity for 500 homes) to plug into the grid. Current net metering law allows utility customers to send solar power they don't use back into the grid for the benefit of other consumers. These customers are then entitled to get the power back at a time then their solar panels are not producing electricity. Assemblyman Fred Keeley (D-Boulder Creek) has written a bill, AB 58, that would support solar by extending the right to net meter large solar systems beyond the time limit set by Governor Davis. The bill would also impose time limits on utilities so that they can't delay hooking solar up to the power grid. However, utility lobbyists have successfully pressured Assemblyman Keeley to change AB 58 to reduce the rates paid to large photovoltaic (solar) generators. If AB 58 is not changed back to pay photovoltaic (solar) generators the full retail rate for electricity produced, we can kiss the growing solar industry in California goodbye because the incentive to install large PV systems will be gone! Send a fax now to key Assembly Members, State Senators, and California Governor Davis. Express your support for AB 58 and a clean energy future! http://www.cleanenergynow.org/bin/takeaction.fpl?action_id=142
The following message is from Bonnie Raitt, Robert Redford Graham Nash and David Crosby who are working with our allies in clean energy, Vote Solar. Dear Friend: As people who've been active in the environmental movement for a long time, we'd like to tell you about a critical vote the California legislature is about to take that will impact the future of solar energy in America. Last year, California passed a law, referred to as net metering, that lets large solar energy systems on factories, schools, offices and other big buildings receive credit for the electricity they give back to the electric grid. It has been a huge success, sparking a 1000% increase in the number of large solar energy systems in just one year and creating a model for the country. AB 58 by Assemblyman Fred Keeley (D-Boulder Creek) would extend this law past the end of this year, when it expires. But California's three big utilities - PG&E, Edison, and Sempra - have launched a stealth campaign to undermine it. They have amended the bill in a way that cuts in half the credit given for solar electricity. If these utilities get their way, many people who would otherwise like to install solar panels will no longer be able to afford to. And California's solar power market, the most vibrant in the nation, will be devastated, with grave consequences for the environment. There is simply too much at stake for us to lose this fight. Nuclear power plants leave us radioactive waste that will last for thousands of years. Emissions from power plants that run off coal, oil and gas pollute the air we breathe and are the leading contributor to global warming. The best way to say no to these environmentally harmful sources is to say yes to clean alternatives like solar energy. The good news is that the price of solar energy has been falling as more people buy it - the cost drops by about 20% every time demand doubles. But since two thirds of America's market for solar panels is in California, our progress will be brought to a standstill if the utilities succeed. Companies that profit from pollution should not call the shots, especially when there is so much on the line. Please join us in speaking out today. The California Legislature takes up AB 58 on Monday Aug. 12. There are two things you can do. First, you can join us in immediately contacting these key elected officials and letting them know that you support strong net metering laws. Tell them this is the time to give more incentives to solar energy, not fewer. Governor Gray Davis: (916) 445-2841
You can also email them directly by going to www.votesolar.org. Second, send this email along to family, friends, and colleagues so they too can send a message to decision makers. Together, we can help California and the rest of the nation plug into the sun. Thank you, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Redford, Graham Nash & David Crosby |