Month: February 2017

Net Metering in the Los Angeles area is set to change July 2017

Feb 22, 2017 | ,

[vc_row][vc_column][mk_fancy_title color=”#ff8300″ size=”20″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]Net Metering and Southern California Edison: The best solar savings will expire July 1st (or sooner).[/mk_fancy_title][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In 2013, California passed Assembly Bill 327 which established a Net Energy Metering program. Simply put, Net Energy Metering allows homeowners with solar installations to remain connected to the grid and make saving with solar easier. Imagine a bank that you put energy credits into. Over the course of the day you produce enough energy to get your household through the night. Net Metering gives you a pace to store it. So when the solar array stops producing when the sun goes down, you use those energy credits that you earned during the day, at no charge – as long as you don’t use more energy than you produce. What makes Net Metering even more special is that there are no mandatory fees or usage plans and once you’ve enrolled your plan will not change for the next 20 years. However, like all great things Net Metering in its current form is coming to an end. Under the current policy, Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) like Southern California Edison will offer the current Net Metering rates until July 1, 2017, OR when Southern California Edison’s utility grid demand is comprised of 5% solar, whichever comes first. The Net Metering program won’t go away altogether just yet as California’s Public Utilities Commission...

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The Solar Industry under the Trump Administration

Feb 20, 2017 |

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are now nearly two full months into 2017 and we’ve been busy chatting with many people who are researching information on solar for their homes. Most have heard some rumblings of changes in solar rebates, credits and the like. The process of going solar may seem intimidating at first, so we tend to field a wide range of questions, from pricing to permitting. Add to that the recent political shifts that could influence the future of green and renewable energy, there is quite a lot to talk about this year! To that end, we have received questions about how solar rebates and credits may change with the new White House – the answer is a complex one, and so we break down some of our thoughts below. “What’s going to happen to solar under Trump?” With the political tides changing, it’s a fair question. Before Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, a few of our customers were motivated to start their installations before any policies or programs could be affected by the new administration. The mood has ranged from a general concern that Trump and his cabinet are eliminating climate change regulations (and potentially affecting the growth of green energy) to a belief that the federal solar rebate program may eventually be defunded. Predicting how the Trump Administration will approach solar and...

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