You have the right to make energy from the sun without interference from the utilities.
It is time for utilities to join the 21st century or get left in the dust. Here’s what Sacramento area solar users recently proposed to their local utility, SMUD. Nearly 1,000 SMUD customers signed a petition in support of this proposal. Could this be the blueprint for the utility of the future? September 3, 2019 Proposal for SMUD to Partner …
We have four take-homes from this week’s PG&E power outage: Outage take-home #1: Our electrical grid is fragile. Solar and battery storage should be a key strategy to move us forward These two articles frame the issue well: From Fast Company Magazine: To keep the lights on during California’s blackouts, people are using solar power “Between the solar and the …
Make sure your solar panels are doing their job with some preventative monitoring. We asked solar industry veteran Al Rich of ACR Solar for some tips. Here’s what we learned: 1. Why is it important to learn how to monitor your own system? Even though many solar installers have a monitoring service, they usually can only look for “red flags” …
In late August, two dozen solar users from across the state joined solar workers at the State Capitol to educate lawmakers about the benefits of rooftop solar, part of our 2nd Annual Solar Lobby Day. All in all, we met with over twenty lawmakers or their staffs in one day. Why do we organize Solar Lobby Day? The main goal …
State lawmakers took a stand for your right to make solar energy by ensuring local governments can’t tax your solar. Background: local governments often charge taxes on services like cable and electricity. They’re called Utility Utilization Taxes (UUT). A few years ago, state lawmakers correctly recognized that you should not get taxed for the solar energy that you make and …
San Diego Gas & Electric and many cities are attacking rooftop solar with charges as high as $60 per month on solar users. Solar users fought this nonsense off in Sacramento, and you should too. This is exactly why we need a Solar Bill of Rights to prohibit fees that discriminate against people for making solar energy on their property. …
This week, solar users, solar workers and students joined former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown at Buchanan High School in Clovis to celebrate hitting One Million Solar Roofs this year. It’s a huge milestone, and worth celebrating because solar has been great for the people of California. “Being a veteran, I feel that by going solar I’m still helping …
The utilities often falsely tell lawmakers that your solar is an expensive burden on the electrical grid. Solar users know the truth: your solar system not only benefits you individually, but the entire community as well. Now, a new report by the nonprofit Environment America spells out many of the ways your solar benefits society. In this post, we summarize …
Utility lobbyists killed the bill to protect your right to make solar energy without unfair fees or red tape, but they can’t kill the idea. With more wildfires, blackouts and budget-busting electricity prices on the horizon, we need a Solar Bill of Rights more than ever. Your voice is key to stepping up the pressure and succeeding. It is time …
In March, Sacramento area solar users banded together and stopped their local utility (SMUD) from hitting solar users with a punishing $40-$60 / month fee. Encouraged that their voices were heard by SMUD, these solar users are now campaigning to help SMUD become a “The Utility of the Future.” Solar users would have paid $40-60 more per month…just for having …