POWER GREEN
120, 000 Californians urge Gov. Newsom to save rooftop Solar
Save California Solar coalition event photo Samantha May Photography)
The move comes after a meeting that was done on Dec 8, 2021, which saw Environment California Research & Policy Center and over a hundred solar supporters delivered a petition signed by more than 120,000 Californians to officials at the California State Capitol urging the Governor and the California Public Utilities Commission to protect a key incentive for rooftop solar. The program, dubbed “net metering,” reimburses Californians for any extra electricity their solar panels provide back to the grid.
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“Rooftop solar needs to continue to grow quickly for California to reach its clean energy goals,” said Laura Deehan, state director at Environment California Research & Policy Center. “Gov. Newsom has the golden opportunity to help California reach its climate goals, keep the lights on and protect our state’s precious open spaces. Over 120,000 Californians agree: Gov. Newsom needs to stand up to the state’s investor-owned utilities and keep rooftop solar within reach for California families and businesses.” The state is committed to ensuring 100 percent clean electricity in the next two decades and the officials estimate that to achieve this the state will need to quadruple the current rooftop solar capacity. There’s are a lot of merits to this, rooftop solar reduces the need for costly investments in the grid system. In fact, in 2018, the state grid operators determined that California could forego $2.6 Billion in future spending on transmission and other projects pertaining to the grid
PHOTO FROM 123RF
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bout 120,000 Californians including supporters, consumers, affordable housing advocates, church leaders, environmentalists, conservationists, and climate activists all agree that the governor needs to stand up to the state’s investorowned utilities and keep rooftop solar within reach for the California Families.
