You have the right to make energy from the sun without interference.
To the SMUD Board of Directors:
Please scrap your current SolarShares plan and hold public hearings on the path forward.
SolarShares will:
* Prevent solar from being installed on new homes.
* Make it harder for owners of new homes to add solar and storage for 20 years.
* Deny residents of new homes the chance to save hundreds of dollars on their energy bills each year.
SMUD did not seek broad community input while designing SolarShares. This is one reason why there is such widespread opposition to your current plan. Please live up to the spirit of a community utility and listen to the community on this issue.
Starting this year, the state requires newly built homes to have solar on them and encourage the addition of a battery as well. Putting solar on homes during construction lowers the upfront cost of solar and saves residents money on their energy bill over the long run. With a battery, homeowners can keep the power on during blackouts. It makes sense to build solar into new construction as a standard feature, like insulation.
But now SMUD is trying to cut a deal that would keep solar off newly built homes for twenty years. Here is a rundown of SMUD’s proposal:
State energy officials have already sent SMUD back to the drawing board three times, in part because hundreds of community members, organizations and media outlets spoke out against SMUD’s proposal.
But SMUD keeps proposing the same flawed plan. It is time for SMUD to acknowledge their proposal is flawed, scrap it and start over.
More reading:
Los Angeles Times: California, don’t back down from your own rules requiring solar panels on new homes
SMUD’s proposal (pdf download)
Solar Rights Alliance’s formal letter of opposition to the CEC
In-depth analysis of SMUD’s proposal by the solar industry (pdf download)
Contact Mireille Benajji at mireille@solarrights [dot] org to learn more. Thank you for getting involved!