By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
The key to a booming Louisiana solar industry is a stronger renewable portfolio standard (RPS), according to an op-ed written a solar advocate from the Natural Resources Defense Council in The Lens, a newspaper focusing on New Oreleans and the Gulf Coast of the state.
After discussing the benefits of community solar and a place for it in the electricity generation mix of the Pelican State, author Kevin Fitzwilliam then proceeds to argue that a strong RPS is necessary to drive solar development in the state, a fact so obvious it’s hard to even believe it needs to be said (but apparently it does, and kudos to Fitzwilliam for saying it.
The op-ed reopens a discussion that was closed in 2013 after several studies determined that a mandatory RPS wasn’t needed, according to the solar regulatory clearinghouse DSIRE. Researchers at DSIRE wrote:
Three major reasons given not to pursue an RPS were 1) that renewable energy generation is more expensive than conventional energy generation, 2) that rising natural gas prices have put renewables at a cost disadvantage, and 3) that federal interest in mandatory RPS goals appeared to be limited at the time.
That last is a particularly strange argument, given that on almost every other issue, federal attitudes about anything would be roundly ignored in Louisiana politics. But now, according to Fitzwilliam, the first two arguments have fallen away, too. He writes:
The bad news is that Louisiana doesn’t have the mandate to develop renewables that is brightening Minnesota’s energy future. And without one, there is no top-down pressure on utilities to get smart about solar.
Without such pressure, Fitzwilliam argues, Louisiana will never be able to get the robust community solar market it both deserves and needs. As he concludes:
Today’s U.S. electric grid has 50 times as much solar energy as was available in 2007, and community solar is helping to grow that amount. As more states across the country adopt legislation mandating renewable energy, community solar will become more commonplace. With all our abundant sunshine, it’s time for Louisiana to come off the sidelines and get in the game.
We couldn’t agree more with Fitzwilliam. It’s time for Louisiana to take another look at a mandatory RPS before it falls far behind its fellow southern states in the Solar Revolution.
More:
Leap to solar in Louisiana requires mandating that utilities use renewables