Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Solar Punishment for Boulder

SGI will continue to organize solar gardens in Boulder. Some potential hosts have been deterred by the current uncertainty.

An abused partner is at the greatest risk at the moment when they leave their abuser. I say: stand strong, Boulder!

- Joy

From the Boulder Daily Camera:

In November, voters gave the city permission to continue to study the costs involved in starting a municipal electric utility and to move forward if leaders like what they see.

Xcel is asking the PUC to restructure the Solar Rewards payment program so that Boulder customers would not receive any rebates up front, and, instead, would receive only payments over time. Customers now receive both an up-front rebate and payments over time, though Xcel is working to phase out the up-front payments for all customers.

The utility also has asked to limit the amount of energy-efficiency investments that the utility would make in Boulder -- which often happens in the form of rebates for things such as upgrades to heating and cooling systems -- to the amount of money Boulder customers pay into the system.

Xcel also wants to bar Boulder customers from participating in the upcoming solar gardens program -- which will allow for renters, condo owners and others without the ability to install solar panels on their own property to purchase panels in a "solar garden" set up on a separate piece of land -- and the proposed long-term Windsource program.

Read more:

http://www.dailycamera.com/energy/ci_20166804/boulder-attorney-city-will-fight-xcel-cuts-energy

Joy Hughes, Founder, Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org
CEO, Solar Panel Hosting LLC http://www.solarpanelhosting.com
(719)207-3097 direct

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