By D.A. Barber | Tucson Weekly
A war on solar energy incentives and the ability of homeowners with rooftop solar to sell power back to utility companies is raging in parts of the U.S. as utilities attempt to derail the decentralized, “distributed generation” energy movement. And Arizona is in the crosshairs.
At the forefront of this war is a scuffle between Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest utility, and solar installers over “net metering,” which has drawn national attention from the media and solar industry organizations.
Net metering allows homeowners to receive credit on their electric bills for excess electricity generated by their solar panels, an arrangement that has resulted in a huge upswing in people going solar.
Today, 43 states and the District of Columbia allow net metering and 99 percent of the rooftop solar installations last year were net metered, according to the Solar Electric Power Association. Net metering is also the foundation for solar leasing—where companies such as SunRun and SolarCity pay the upfront cost of solar with “no money down” while customers pay a fixed rate for power over 20 years. In Arizona, leasing accounted for 86 percent of all residential solar installed in the first quarter of 2013. Without net metering, solar companies would hobble along on sales of expensive rooftop systems few can afford.
Related: Solar Energy: How Close is the ‘Off the Grid’ Reality?
