HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-18; City Council; Resolution 2022-027RESOLUTION NO. 2022-027
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, SUPPORTING THE PROTECTION OF ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER
GENERATION AND EXPANDING CLEAN ENERGY ACCESS AS IT RELATES TO
THE NET ENERGY METERING 3.0 PROCEEDING BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
Exhibit :.
WHEREAS, net energy metering is designed to support the installation of customer-sited
renewable energy generation; and
WHEREAS, net energy metering allows customers to receive bill credits for power generated
by their solar system and shared with the power grid and ultimately save money on their utility bills;
and
WHEREAS, net energy metering is what has allowed solar to become increasingly accessible to
low-and-moderate income households, schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations; and
WHEREAS, the California Public Utilities Commission has launched a formal proceeding to
update the current net energy metering structure to be introduced in 2022 as "net energy metering
3.0" and a number of parties have submitted their proposals for what they believe net energy
metering 3.0 should look like; and
WHEREAS, the California investor-owned utilities -San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas and
Electric and Southern California Edison -have submitted a joint proposal that calls for drastic changes
to net energy metering that would make customer-sited renewable energy more expensive by
including high monthly fees and increasing the amount of time for customers to pay off the system
and ultimately has the potential to eliminate the California distributed solar market; and
WHEREAS, the investor-owned utilities' proposal would make it harder for customer-sited
renewables to continue to grow sustainably as mandated by law, while other proposals submitted by
Protect Our Communities Foundation, California Solar & Storage Association, Vote Solar, GRID
Alternatives, Solar Energy Industries Association and others not only would encourage new solar
adoption but also include additional subsidies for low income customers and energy storage
adoption; and
WHEREAS, the investor-owned utilities' proposal includes fees on the utility side of billing and
would be the highest solar fees in the nation in the San Diego Gas & Electric territory, which Clean
Energy Alliance customers would not be able to avoid even if the alliance's net energy metering rate
was extremely solar friendly; and
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #8 Page 4 of 14
WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad Climate Action Plan includes rooftop solar on residential and
commercial buildings as a key greenhouse gas reduction measure; and
WHEREAS, the City Council continues to advocate for equity in our communities; and
WHEREAS, protecting rooftop solar and expanding access to rooftop solar will help California
move toward 100% clean energy; and
WHEREAS, rooftop solar is used to power electric vehicles and is a critical component in
lowering and eliminating transportation emissions; and
WHEREAS, California cannot meet its clean energy targets in time with utility-scale solar alone
and needs to triple the amount of rooftop solar to get to 100 percent clean energy by 2045; and
WHEREAS, Carlsbad schools, residents and businesses should be able to continue to adopt
rooftop solar and receive the benefits of solar paired with other clean energy technologies, which
would be in jeopardy if the investor-owned utilities' proposal was adopted; and
WHEREAS, a recent study conducted by Vibrant Clean Energy showed that rooftop solar can
save all California ratepayers $120 billion and is a net benefit to society; and
WHEREAS, the rooftop solar industry supports thousands of local jobs in San Diego County,
including many in Carlsbad; and
WHEREAS, the rooftop solar industry provides over $1 billion in economic benefits to the
region; and
WHEREAS, Carlsbad is a regional leader in rooftop solar adoption, with more than 8,000 local
projects including homes, schools, nonprofits and businesses, which could be negatively impacted by
current net energy metering proposals.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as
follows:
1.
2.
That the above recitations are true and correct.
That the Carlsbad City Council supports protecting rooftop solar and expanding clean
energy access by making it easier, not harder, for people to adopt rooftop solar in order
to meet California's ambitious clean energy targets and deploy solar in communities
struggling to pay for electricity.
3. That the Carlsbad City Council urges the California Public Utilities Commission to
strengthen net energy metering to expand access to other clean energy technologies
Jan. 18, 2022 Item #8 Page 5 of 14