Media Advisory, December 12, 2023
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Contact: |
Roger Lin, (510) 844-7100 x 363, [email protected] |
Appeals Court to Hear Arguments Wednesday Challenging California’s Regressive Rooftop Solar Policy
SAN FRANCISCO— A California appeals court panel will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the state’s new rooftop solar policy. The policy, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission and effective April 15, significantly slashes the credit new solar users get for sharing their extra solar energy with the grid.
What: Oral arguments on the appeal of the California Public Utility Commission’s approval of the state’s new rooftop solar net metering policy.
When: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023
Where: California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, 350 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA, 94102. The hearing will also be livestreamed.
Who: The Center for Biological Diversity will be represented by attorney Roger Lin. He will be available for interviews after the hearing, along with representatives of The Protect Our Communities Foundation and Environmental Working Group.
Background
California’s new net metering policy slashes customer credits by up to 80% for electricity generated on rooftops and sold back to the grid. This has stymied efforts to expand rooftop solar in the state, particularly in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods, and led to huge layoffs in the solar industry. It also violated state law, which requires that any policies ensure the rooftop solar market keeps growing, particularly in environmental justice communities.
In May the Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect Our Communities Foundation and the Environmental Working Group petitioned the California Court of Appeal to review the policy after the commission rejected the group’s appeal.
The petition says the commission ignored a host of rooftop solar benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, resilience to extreme weather and power outages, and decreasing the need for utility transmission lines. It also says for-profit utilities across the country are trying to gut rooftop solar programs because distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar, threaten the utility business model.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
