By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
The utilities showed their muscle again in South Carolina, “persuading” legislators to remove two pro-solar provisions from the state’s budget bill and scuttling the chances of fomenting solar growth during this legislative session.
Removing the state’st net metering caps and encouraging more purchases of solar electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) had been in the bill until the last moment, when they were removed because they allegedly didn’t meet the standards for being part of the budget process.
The move was reminiscent of a similar maneuver earlier this year when the net-metering provision was taken out of another bill after intense utility lobbying turned some typically pro-solar legislators against it. Once gain, the South Carolina legislature has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when it comes to creating sane solar policy in the Palmetto State. Predictably, the national solar industry reacted angrily to the news.
“Today, lawmakers caved to utility interests instead of looking out for all South Carolina solar workers, households, and businesses,” said Tyson Grinstead, Southeast director of public policy for residential installer Sunrun. “When Duke reaches its limit on solar energy over the next few weeks hundreds of industry workers will be forced to leave the upstate.
“Households will no longer have the freedom to choose solar energy as an alternative to paying the highest energy bills in the country,” Grinstead continued. “This recent primary election proved that opposing energy choices such as solar is politically toxic. We look forward to working with the lawmakers who are searching for a permanent solution that encourages more homegrown energy choices, jobs, and economic prosperity for the state.”
Thad Culley, regional director for Vote Solar, was no less upset but did single out the bipartisan group of legislators who led the fight to eliminate the net metering cap for praise.
“It is deeply disappointing that clean energy progress in South Carolina will be delayed another year, putting at risk 3,000 local jobs in the state’s once-thriving solar industry and limiting South Carolinians only true alternatives to monopoly utilities,” Culley said. “We thank Representatives Nathan Ballentine, Peter McCoy and James Smith for their strong bipartisan leadership and for championing the energy freedom, lower utility bills, and solar workforce that solar brings to South Carolina.
“We look forward to removing arbitrary limits on solar’s potential in next year’s session and reminding all lawmakers that this is an issue that has overwhelming support from voters across the political spectrum,” Culley said.
For Culley’s dream to be realized, however, the power of the utilities (if you’ll pardon the pun) will have to be curbed within the statehouse because even when victories have been secured, the lobbyists are able to get to members of the legislature to undo them, sometimes as soon as the next day. For South Carolina’s solar policy to have any chance of changing for the better, that’s the monopoly that will have to be broken.
“The Legislature missed an opportunity to help consumers save money, generate more low-cost renewable energy, and give the economy more solar jobs,” said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “This is a deeply disappointing outcome for the people of South Carolina, who now will be paying unnecessarily high electric bills to the monopoly utilities. Without a permanent solution that enables solar businesses to compete and provides fair rates for consumers, the state will have a hard time growing solar and maintaining the thousands of solar jobs that came with the passage of 2014’s Act 236.”
And so the battle for hearts and minds in South Carolina will have to continue for another year – and in the meantime, jobs will be lost.