Monitor Editor
TALLAHASSEE— A bill sponsored by the Lake Region’s state senator that would change the way utilities pay owners of solar energy systems for power cleared the Senate’s Regulated Industries Committee by a six to two vote on Jan. 11.
Opponents of Jennifer Bradley’s Senate Bill 1024 argued that if passed, the legislation would decimate the state’s solar energy industry.
Under current law, through net metering, owners of solar electricity systems can sell their excess power to utilities at retail rates.
Bradley’s proposal, backed by Florida Power and Light and other investor-owned utilities, would lower the price at which solar power is sold to the companies, from the current retail price to wholesale rates.
Bradley told the committee that the net metering rule, written in 2008 when the solar energy industry was emerging, is now due for an update.
“At that time, there were only 577 solar customers,” she said. “The purpose of (the net metering rule) was to jumpstart the growth of rooftop solar and the way that was accomplished was to subsidize residential solar.”
Bradley added that now, over 90,000 Floridians have a rooftop solar system, and the industry no longer needs the subsidy.
She said it is unfair for non-solar customers to subsidize the infrastructure costs of solar rooftop owners.
“Retail rate net metering has proven to be a regressive policy,” she added, “benefiting generally well-off solar customers at the expense of lower income non-solar customers.”
Joe Magro of Titan Solar Power in Tampa told the committee that Bradley’s talking points were one-sided and skewed.
“This bill really only supports the monopolies who run the power through most of our state,” he said. “Consumers don’t have much choice. One of the choices they have is for solar, green energy and have some say about what happens on their property.”
He added that Bradley’s bill would destroy Florida’s solar industry, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs.
“Our company alone has in the last four years gone from zero employees to adding over 250 direct new jobs,” he said. “These are high paying jobs for people that do not need a college degree.”
SB 1024 must be approved by the community affairs and rules committees before making it to the floor of the Senate.
