Page 61 - October 2015 Green Builder Magazine

COMMENTARY
Sunny Option. The non-profit Floridians for Solar Choice is gathering signatures
for a ballot initiative that would give Floridians the right to choose solar power.
www.flsolarchoice.org
kWh produced by the solar system regardless of
whether the energy was used by the customer or
sent back to the OUC grid.” Chris Castro, founder
of IDEAS for Us and ardent advocate for the pro-
posed constitutional amendment, says that in-
centive represents a 50 percent increase in value
compared to other utilities.
A group of citizens in the City of Orlando has
formed the Central Florida Solar Advocates, a
solar cooperative that is helping homeowners
purchase solar in a cost-effective way. By joining
the cooperative, homeowners become educated
on renewable energy systems, collectively bid
and select a solar contractor and then purchase
the equipment and services in bulk. This has
shown to lower the total installed cost per watt
to less than $2 for a residential system, a 30 to
40 percent savings compared to purchasing an
array at retail. The co-op has more than 30 mem-
bers and is growing at a rapid pace. “Through
economies of scale, this new approach to solar
is helping the contractor install more systems
and saves money for homeowners interested in
doing the right thing; a true win-win-win situa-
tion,” states Castro.
TO BALLOT OR
NOT TO BALLOT
As previously stated, the state’s solar rebate pro-
gram is going away on the first day of 2016. Given
the current and projected market dynamics of
panel pricing and traditional power generation
costs, Florida’s solar industry can probably stand
on its own.
That doesn’t mean it would reject a helping
hand. Since the industry is still fighting for market
share against entrenched energy sources like nat-
ural gas, coal and nuclear, there are other efforts
underway to keep growing solar’s market share. A
citizen’s group called Floridians for Solar Choice
is looking to get a constitutional amendment on
the ballot in November 2016.
59
CREDIT: FLORIDIANS FOR SOLAR CHOICE This issue might be more palatable if the utilities
would just be upfront with what they’re trying to
do. They are trying to lower their costs, increase
their profit margins and temporarily (or perhaps
permanently) stifle competition in order to bet-
ter position themselves to compete in a market-
Florida is one of four states that does not allow place where rooftop solar is eating away at their www.greenbuildermedia.com 10.2015
third-party Solar PV Power Purchase Agreements revenues. The utilities are also campaigning hard
(PPA). PPAs allow a citizen to purchase electricity against the proposed amendment. At the same
from the company that puts solar panels on the time, they are announcing new, large-scale solar
roof of your home or business. Floridians for Solar projects, with ever-increasing solar outputs. Noth-
Choice is proposing an amendment that would ing like trying to have your cake and eat it, too.
allow businesses and individuals to sell a maxi-
mum of two megawatts of solar power. The grassroots effort by the various citizen
groups is highly commendable, given the odds
This movement has brought together some they face. And credit should be given to OUC
uncommon allies. Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, for not abandoning the production capabilities
the Climate Reality Project, Florida Wildlife Fed- of rooftop solar. It is our hope that this situation
eration and IDEAS for Us have joined with the gets resolved in the favor of Florida’s future gen-
Christian Coalition, the League of Women Voters, erations. Their well-being should be paramount.
the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, the Lib-
ertarian Party of Seminole County and Tea Party Note: At press time, the Florida Supreme Court
activists to further the ballot initiative. This has had not yet issued their ruling.
put them at odds with the utilities, backed by the
special interest group Americans for Prosper- REFERENCES:
ity, which seeks to keep control of their existing
market dominance. This issue has even pitted “Florida regulators approve plan to gut energy
some local governments against bordering mu- efficiency goals, end solar power rebates” by
nicipalities. Ivan Penn, Tampa Bay Times, November 25,
2014. http://bit.ly/11SQrbK
Predictably, this battle has found its way to the
courtroom, albeit a lot earlier than you might have OUC - http://bit.ly/1LwHn1d
imagined. The utilities asked the Florida Supreme DSIRE - http://www.dsireusa.org
Court to reject the future ballot amendment, on Floridians for Solar Choice -
the grounds that some cities would lose tax reve-
nues. A number of cities have disputed that claim, http://flsolarchoice.org
calling their rationale “aggressive and specula- “Enviros, Tea Partiers, and the Christian Coalition
tive.” At the core of the Supreme Court case are
two questions: all agree: Florida needs more rooftop solar”
by John Light of grist.org, July 10, 2015.
1) Does the ballot language fairly show the http://bit.ly/1L1xEKK
amendment’s impact? “Utilities change their tune on solar power” by Ivan
Penn of the Tampa Bay Times, May 29, 2015.
2) Is it limited to just one subject? http://bit.ly/1KDmhwt
Before they can get anything placed on the DSIRE Third-Party Solar PV Power Purchase
ballot, they need to capture over 680,000 verified Agreement (PPA) - http://bit.ly/1VXLO7N
signatures by February 1, 2016. (As of October 1, “Solar amendment supporters, opponents square
they had 160,000 verified, with another 100,000 off before Florida Supreme Court” by Michael
in the process of review.) They have quite a way Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times, September 1,
to go in a relative short period of time, but Castro 2015. http://bit.ly/1IEHIab
and a host of others are working very hard to
meet the requirement. COURTESY OF
The Green
Builder® Coalition
The Green Builder® Coalition is a
not-for-profit association dedicated
to amplifying the voice of green
builders and professionals to drive
advocacy and education for more
sustainable homebuilding practices.
(http://GreenBuilderCoalition.org)
For more information, contact
Mike Collignon, executive director at
mcollignon@greenbuildercoalition.org