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Adobe Solar Blog
Adobe Solar Blog
Solar Gardens Bill (HB 1342) May Kill Colorado’s Local Solar Industry
March 11 2010 - 8:07:59:am by Greg
Colorado Rep Levy is proposing a “solar gardens,“ bill (HB1342) which if passed as currently written, will harm if not destroy Colorado’s local solar industry, cause thousands of green workers to lose their jobs, and make it extremely difficult for Xcel Energy customers in Colorado to put solar on their homes and businesses. Rep Levy is working hard to pass this bill with the support of Xcel Energy. If passed as written this bill would take a large portion of the monies Xcel currently collects (2% RESA) for on-site distributed solar energy, and reallocate it to help Xcel pay and possibly own enormous industrial scale solar farms. This money was intended to help home and business owners to take advantage of Colorado’s abundant solar resource. The 2% RESA carve-out for on-site solar which was the result of 2004 Amendment 37 , and subsequently Xcel’s solar rewards rebate program is largely the reason Colorado has a local solar industry today! These monies have already benefited thousands of homeowners in Colorado and successfully created thousands of green jobs in Colorado. The problem is that in these difficult economic times Xcel has already disrupted Colorado’s Solar industry by slashing its solar PV rebates for Colorado rate payers by more than 20% in the last 7 months, with plans to reduce these rebates further in the weeks/months ahead. Xcel has explained to the solar industry that it was forced to suddenly slash its solar PV rebates meant for homes and small businesses because they are not collecting sufficient money to continue paying rebates at current levels. Xcel’s current solar rebate reductions have already been painful for Colorado’s Solar Industry, but if this bill passes and allows Xcel to use these monies to own/ control massive solar farms outside the city, Colorado’s local solar industry is likely headed for disaster! In her meeting in Boulder on this Monday, Rep Levy made it clear that she thinks this bill will pass due to Xcel’s backing, and the “sweeteners” she provided them. The irony is that a working solar garden will be unveiled in Westminster today (http://finance.denverpost.com/mng-denver.denverpost/?Page=MediaViewer&GUID=12111685), proving that the solar gardens concept can work without taking away from the pool of monies needed for Colorado rooftops and to help sustain Colorado’s solar industry in these difficult times. Rep Levy’s bill is great for Colorado’s largest polluter, but may lead to the destruction for Colorado’s local solar industry. Please contact your local Colorado representative and tell to vote “NO” on the Community Solar Gardens Bill (HB1342)
