JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Conservationists say the bill will kill the rooftop solar industry in Florida.
- Supporters argue rooftop solar subsidies are being paid for on the backs of non-solar customers.
- Less than 100,000 Florida homes use rooftop solar, making up less than one percent of utility customers.
Florida homeowners with rooftop solar who sell the extra power they back to utility companies could see the price of the energy they produce drastically reduced under legislation now headed to the House floor.
Thad Moseley was one of the early adopters of solar in Jax Beach.
“On a yearly basis we’re pretty close to net zero on energy,” said Moseley.
That’s thanks to net metering.
When he produces more energy than he uses, the utility company buys it back from him at retail value.
Back in 2016, Floridians voted down a proposed constitutional amendment pushed by utility companies that would have hampered the ability of homeowners with rooftop solar to get paid for the energy they produced.
Moseley argues the new proposal moving at the State Capitol seeks to do the same thing.
“That referendum was defeated. Now here they come again trying to come in through legislative means,” said Moseley.
The bill does grandfather in existing solar customers like Moseley, locking them into their current rate for 20 years.
For new customers, however, the subsidies gradually fall, until utility companies would only pay wholesale price for the energy starting in 2029.
Jonathan Webber with Florida Conservation Voters told us utility companies would be paying about five times less for the energy produced by solar households by the time the legislation is fully implemented.
In addition, the bill creates new fees and charges for solar owners in the bill, making the environmentally friendly option even less friendly on the wallets of consumers.
“By taking away or weakening the current net metering law it’s going to put solar panels out of reach for low- and middle-income families across the state. It’s going to put solar panels only into the hands of the ultra-wealthy,” said Webber.
But House sponsor Representative Lawrence McClure (R-Plant City) has argued non-solar customers are being hit by higher rates to subsidize the solar customers.
“So non-rooftop solar customers will not in any way shape or form subsidize rooftop solar. That’s what we do at the end of this,” said McClure.
He contends his bill effectively addresses the concerns on both sides of the issue.
“We allow for the business model to shift over time to get to a place where they can handle that transition,” said McClure.
Webber points out there are less than 100,000 Florida households using rooftop solar, which accounts for less than one percent of all utility customers.
He argues the proposed subsidy reduction could kill the budding industry.
“They see rooftop solar as competition and this bill is specifically geared to undermine that industry and undermine homeowners that may choose to invest in solar panels in the future,” said Webber.
And Florida Conservation Voters argues less solar is bad for the environment and bad for business.
The organization estimates some 40,000 Florida jobs are directly or indirectly tied to the solar industry.
Glide path proposed by bill:
Current Solar customers: 100% retail value (Estimated at 10 to 11 cents per kilowatt hour)
New customers 2023-2025: 75% retail value
New customers 2026: 60% retail value
New customers 2027-2028: 50 % retail value
All rates would be locked in for 20 years.
By 2029 net metering would be reduced to wholesale value. (Estimated at two to three cents per kilowatt hour)
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