347 Organizations Sign Letter to Protect Rooftop Solar Power in California
347 organizations representing a true grassroots movement—spanning business to housing to environmental advocacy groups, issued a statement of support to protect rooftop solar in California.
The open letter signed by a diverse coalition of organizations, sent to Governor Newsom and the California Public Utilities Commission, demands state leaders keep solar affordable in California as the Newsom Administration considers changes to “net energy metering” (NEM), the state policy that defines how solar users send energy back to and interact with the electric grid.
Solar is incredibly popular in California, in part because net metering is putting the benefits of rooftop solar in the hands of more people by making it more affordable. In fact, working and middle-class neighborhoods make up nearly 50% of today’s rooftop solar market.
“80% of Californians support net metering as it is today because it is proving successful and bringing solar to more homes, schools and small businesses,” said Dave Rosenfeld, Executive Director, Solar Rights Alliance. “Net metering is helping bring costs down and making it possible for more people to access the savings, resilience, and other benefits of solar power while also moving California closer to our clean energy goals. Voters of all backgrounds want to continue that progress. They know the utilities do not have their best interests in mind.”
Proposals submitted by the big utilities to gut net metering would drastically reduce the credit solar consumers receive for the excess energy they produce and add a $65–90 monthly solar penalty fee to their energy bills.
By holding back rooftop solar, which is more efficient, the utility profit grab would cost California tens of billions of dollars over time and each ratepayer $295 a year.
“While the big investor owned utilities have money and political influence, our power comes from our diverse coalition representing the needs and desires of environmentalists, conservationists, farmers, students, disabled communities, renters, churches, schools, labor, and small businesses across the state,” said Jessica Tovar, Energy Democracy Organizer with the Local Clean Energy Alliance. “Our grassroots coalition represents California voters from all walks of life, who overwhelmingly support the growth of local solar; like microgrids and oppose the push by investor-owned utilities to increase their own profits by making solar more expensive for everyone.”
By undermining net metering, making solar more expensive for everyone and halting critical clean energy expansion, the utility profit grab is out of step with California’s environmental and clean energy goals and the growing need for a reliable energy supply in the face of wildfires and grid outage events.
“California is in a climate emergency, with record shattering heat waves, drought and wildfires spreading across the state,” said Laura Deehan, State Director of Environment California. “With so much at stake, California gutting net metering would reverse our trajectory as a leader in solving global warming right when our leadership is needed most.”
The Save California Solar coalition is calling on the CA Public Utilities Commission to strengthen net metering in two ways by making it easier and more affordable for everyone, and increasing battery accessibility for those who go solar, thereby increasing the community benefits of rooftop solar.
“At a time when many of California’s 18 million tenants are just fighting to remain housed, investor-owned utilities are trying to drive up their rates if their building includes rooftop solar,” said Mari Perez-Ruiz, Chair of the California Democratic Party Renters Council. “Renters deserve more rooftop solar, not more bailouts to PG&E, SoCal Gas, and Sempra.”
“Communities of color are those most impacted by climate change,” said Coalition for Environmental Equity and Economics (CEEE) co-founder Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr. “They are the communities that live with the health consequences of environmental hazards, and they lack the resources to quickly bounce back from natural disasters. CEEE has a high sense of urgency to ensure California public policy makes the communities we care about a priority.”
Save California Solar: Save California Solar is a coalition founded by the Solar Rights Alliance, California’s association of solar users, to help ensure that rooftop solar continues to grow and benefit every Californian. Learn more at www.savecaliforniasolar.org.
Article courtesy of Save California Solar.
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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