Net Metering Bill in CT Needs Help

Renewable energy (such as PV) is booming in states such as California and NJ where there are subsidies (that help compensate for the subsidizes received by traditional energy producers) and where there is a fair legal and regulatory environment. One of the major needs is for net metering -- a mechanism that allows distributed electricity producers to place their excess electricity onto the grid and receive a credit on their electric bill. Their electric meter literally goes backwards -- hence "net metering."  This is important because renewable energy sources such as PV are intermittent frequently producing excess electricity in the day that would be wasted if it could not be sold back into the grid.

New Jersey -- that permits net metering up to 2 MW -- currently has the best net metering law in the United States, and the solar business is booming.  New York by contrast excludes commercial application and has limits of 10 kW for residential solar (25 kW for residential wind; and 125 kW for farm-based wind); as a consequence, there are many new installations of small residential solar in NY, but commercial PV applications are much rarer.

There is an important, pro-renewable energy bill in the Connecticut legislature, that has become stalled in the final days of the session: Substitute Bill No. 211, An Act Concerning Renewable Energy. Among other things, the bill would 1) increase net metering limit from 100 kilowatts to 1 megawatt; 2) increase the net metering carryover period from 1 month to 12 months; and 3) exempt solar systems from the sales tax. 

The Solar Energy Business Association of New England is requesting that Connecticut legislators be contacted, asked to move the bill forward and told that it is an important bill for the environment and the solar energy industry. Obviously, contacts from Connecticut residents will carry the most weight. Legislators to contact:  Representative Fontana [email protected] 860-240-0434 Senator Fonfara [email protected] 860-240-0043; Representative DelGobbo [email protected] 860-240-8700;Senator Herlihy [email protected] 860-240-0436