{"id":7553,"date":"2014-01-31T08:05:23","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T13:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=7553"},"modified":"2014-01-31T08:44:30","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T13:44:30","slug":"ga-bill-for-solar-financing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/ga-bill-for-solar-financing.html","title":{"rendered":"GA bill for solar financing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nWhat electric utilities fear most:\r\nbipartisan support for distributed rooftop solar financing.\r\nYou can call your legislator and support HB 874,\r\nthe Solar Power Free-Market Financing and Property Rights Act of 2014.\r\n

\r\nDave Williams\r\nwrote for the Atlanta Business Chronicle 28 January 2014,\r\n\r\nGa. Republican unveils solar bill<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nGeorgia property owners would be able to contract directly with\r\nsolar energy installers to finance the installation of solar panels\r\nunder legislation introduced in the General Assembly Tuesday.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe bill would let property owners lease solar panels instead of\r\nhaving to buy them with cash up front, said Georgia Rep. Mike\r\nDudgeon, R-Johns Creek, the bill’s sponsor.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“We want to make it clear that you can use whatever financing\r\nis available to finance your solar panel,” Dudgeon said.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nPrevious attempts by other lawmakers to grow Georgia’s solar\r\nindustry by opening the market to third party financing have failed\r\nto gain headway in the General Assembly.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nDudgeon said his bill is drawn more narrowly to avoid conflicting\r\nwith the state’s Territorial Act, a 40-year-old law that gives\r\nGeorgia Power Co. the exclusive right to serve its existing\r\ncustomers.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“This is primarily looking at personal use on your own\r\nproperty,” he said.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nSure, that’s narrower than co-sponsor Karla Drenner’s\r\nformer\r\nHB 503<\/a> for renewable porfolio standards.\r\nAnd it’s directed at the main problem with that antique 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act:\r\n\r\nthat old Act makes financing solar difficult<\/a>.\r\nIt is the main reason\r\n\r\nGeorgia gets an F for solar energy policy<\/a>.\r\nThis new\r\nHB 874 is narrow exactly in the place that will make the most difference:\r\non your roof, which will enable\r\n\r\na grid with a million solar rooftops<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nWhy do you think Georgia Power is concentrating on big utility-scale\r\nsolar projects instead?\r\nBecause\r\n\r\nrooftop solar doesn’t fit into their cozy century-long baseload business model.<\/a>\r\nAs\r\nDavid Roberts wrote for Grist 11 April 2013,\r\n\r\nSolar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities<\/a>,\r\nit’s not just that utilities don’t own your solar panels, so from their\r\npoint of view you’re taking away revenue from their nukes and coal and\r\nmethane plants,\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nIt’s worse than that, though. Solar power peaks at midday, which\r\nmeans it is strongest close to the point of highest electricity use\r\n— “peak load.” Problem is, providing power to meet\r\npeak load is where utilities make a huge chunk of their money. Peak\r\npower is the most expensive power. So when solar panels provide peak\r\npower, they aren’t just reducing demand, they’re reducing demand for\r\nthe utilities’ most valuable product.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nSolar is\r\n\r\nalready cheaper than any fossil fuel or nuclear<\/a>\r\nand\r\n\r\nit keeps getting cheaper<\/a>,\r\ndriving up deployments\r\n\r\nlike compound interest<\/a>.\r\nSolar will win\r\n\r\nlike the Internet did<\/a>.\r\nThe solar train is leaving the station.\r\nThis bill will pass this year, or something even better will pass next year.\r\nGeorgia Power can get on board or get run over.\r\n

\r\nHere’s the bill,\r\n\r\nHB 874: Solar Power Free-Market Financing and Property Rights Act of 2014<\/a>\r\n

\r\nLC 36 2459\r\nHouse Bill 874\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nBy: Representatives Dudgeon of the 25th, Brockway of the 102nd, Setzler of the 35th, Drenner\r\nof the 85th, Jacobs of the 80th, and others \r\n
\r\nA BILL TO BE ENTITLED\r\nAN ACT\r\n<\/center>\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nTo amend Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,\r\nrelating to the generation and distribution of electricity generally, so as to provide that a retail\r\nelectric customer may install solar technology for the generation of electric energy for use\r\nprimarily on property owned or occupied by such customer; to provide a short title; to\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nprovide declarations and findings; to provide definitions of certain terms; to provide for\r\nfinancing of the purchase and installation of solar technology by retail electric customers; to\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nprohibit electric utilities from interfering with such financing, purchase, and installation; to\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nclarify what constitutes the provision of electric service and who shall be considered an\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nelectric utility; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other\r\npurposes.\r\n
\r\nBE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:\r\nSECTION 1.<\/b>\r\n<\/center>\r\nArticle 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the\r\ngeneration and distribution of electricity generally, is amended by adding a new part to read\r\nas follows:\r\n
\r\n"Part 4\r\n<\/center>\r\n46-3-60.\r\nThis part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Solar Power Free-Market Financing and\r\nProperty Rights Act of 2014.’\r\n46-3-61.\r\nThe General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:\r\n(1)  It is in the public interest to encourage free choice for customers of electric utilities\r\nto save on their power bills by investing in current technologies;\r\n(2)  Such technologies include energy efficient lighting, energy efficient appliances and\r\nair-conditioning systems, and solar technologies for the on-site generation of electricity;\r\n(3)  Free-market financing of solar technologies will provide more customers with\r\nopportunities to increase energy and cost savings;\r\n(4)  Leases, power purchase agreements, and other similar arrangements are financing\r\narrangements which serve to reduce or eliminate up-front costs involved in solar\r\ntechnology investments by electric utility customers, thereby creating immediate cost\r\nsaving opportunities; and\r\n(5)  Electric utility customers who finance their investment in solar technology and those\r\nindividuals and entities which offer such financing opportunities through leases or power\r\npurchase agreements should not be considered or treated as an electric utility for any\r\npurpose under this title.\r\n46-3-62.\r\nAs used in this part, the term:\r\n(1)  ’Electric service provider’ means any electric utility, electric membership corporation,\r\nor municipal electric utility that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to\r\nretail electric customers in this state.\r\n(2)  ’Electric supplier’ means any electric light and power company subject to regulation\r\nby the commission, any electric membership corporation furnishing retail service in this\r\nstate, and any municipality which furnishes retail service in this state.\r\n(3)  ’Electric utility’ includes an electric service provider and an electric supplier.\r\n(4)  ’Retail electric customer’ means a person who purchases electric service from an\r\nelectric utility for such person’s use and not for the purpose of resale.\r\n(5)  ’Solar financing agent’ means an individual or entity whose primary business is the\r\ninstallation or financing of solar technology on property owned or occupied by a retail\r\nelectric customer primarily for the on-site generation of electric energy.\r\n46-3-63.\r\n(a)  A retail electric customer may install any solar technology for the generation of electric\r\nenergy for use primarily on property owned or occupied by such customer.  Such solar\r\ntechnology and its installation may be financed by the retail electric customer through a\r\nsolar financing agent utilizing a loan, lease, power purchase agreement, or any other form\r\nof financing agreement.\r\n(b)  No electric utility shall prevent or otherwise interfere with the installation or financing\r\nof solar technology by a retail electric customer through a solar financing agent pursuant\r\nto subsection (a) of this Code section.\r\n46-3-64.\r\n(a)  Provisions in a loan, lease, power purchase agreement, or other form of financing\r\nagreement for payments to a solar financing agent by a retail electric customer based on\r\nthe amount of electricity furnished to such customer shall not be considered the provision\r\nof electric service to the public, retail electric service, or the retail supply of electricity by\r\nthe solar financing agent, and neither such retail electric customer nor such solar financing\r\nagent shall be considered an electric supplier by virtue of such provisions.\r\n(b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a solar financing agent shall not be\r\nconsidered an electric utility for any purpose under this title."\r\nSECTION 2.<\/b>\r\nAll laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

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