Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
View more of the Sun's opinion section
“NV Energy should embrace rooftop solar,” a letter in the Las Vegas Sun April 21 said. Of course it should; after all, capping net metering disenfranchises everyone who doesn’t have residential solar installed.
Let the solar panel migration begin. The residential solar industry makes a significant profit here hawking its heretofore-unprofitable residential solar panel installations. It has found a way to get a majority of electric utility users and taxpayers to subsidize its product for a few customers. It must be laughing all the way to the bank.
Net metering for residential solar installations is capped at 3 percent of all residences. Proposals to increase the cap are being considered. The solar lobby says there is no substantial cost to nonparticipants because of net metering, so expansion should be granted.
The solution must be obvious to even the most casual observer. Eliminate the cap and give everyone access to residential solar. Subsidies by our federal, state and local governments plus guaranteed access to an existing power grid are the only way residential solar works financially. If the Legislature and Gov. Brian Sandoval want to level the playing field, encourage utilities to invest in solar and wind. Utilities have the economy of scale and solar concentration efficiency that will benefit everyone. Let NV Energy do all the solar. Someday residential solar will be competitive on its own merits. Today is not that day.
