The process at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will be very important in determining the particulars of how the bill is implemented, including how projects will be chosen, marketing to low income participants, and how generation will be placed close to load. In particular, we'll need to encourage the CPUC to allow participants to choose the particular project they would like to subscribe to, so that it can be a true solar gardens program.
many thanks,
Joy
----------------------------------------------
DATE
Governor
Jerry Brown
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
SB 43 (Wolk) – SUPPORT, Your Organization
Dear Governor Brown:
On behalf of Your Org, I write to express our strong support for SB 43 and urge you to sign the bill into law.
SB 43 is an innovative renewable
energy program model that expands consumer access to renewable energy,
providing customers of SCE, SDG&E and PG&E with the ability to invest
in offsite renewable energy projects and receive utility bill credits without
shifting costs to non-participants. It extends the economic and environmental
benefits of renewable energy to the large percentage of Californians who
currently are not able to site renewables on their own property, including renters,
people whose homes are shaded or poorly oriented, businesses who lease, and
space-limited public entities. A recent Vote Solar analysis[1]
indicates that this program would create more than 6,000 new jobs for
Californians and generate more than $2.2 billion in economic output.
SB 43 does not specify
whether the program must include a customer choice element that allows
customers to choose what specific renewable energy project and location they
would like to support. We hope you will encourage the California Public
Utilities Commission to explicitly enable this element, which will accelerate
renewable energy development by allowing customers to choose projects with characteristics
they value. Customer choice can be
enabled by allowing third parties, other than the utility, to market to
customers for participation in shared renewables projects with characteristics
they believe customers want. This will better
harness the power of competition and enable market forces to determine the
direction of renewable energy development under this program. This element of
customer choice is supported in best practices research on shared renewables programs
nationally by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.[2]
We strongly support SB 43 and
respectfully request that you sign the bill into law as soon as possible. Thank
you for your leadership in expanding access to renewable energy, which will
benefit electricity customers, utilities, California’s economy and our
environment.
Sincerely,
No comments:
Post a Comment