New report: California’s solar success story in jeopardy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California ranks #1 in the nation for growth in small-scale solar power generation in the past decade, according to a new report released Tuesday by Environment California Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. The report, Rooftop solar on the rise: Small solar projects are delivering 10 times as much power as a decade ago, tracks the dramatic growth of rooftop solar power over the last decade, illustrates how far we have yet to go to take full advantage of our solar energy potential and recommends policies to keep rooftop solar rising.

“California’s impressive rooftop solar growth is inspiring, and we’re just scratching the surface of our solar potential,” said Steven King, clean energy advocate with Environment California. “Soaking up the sun directly on our rooftops is one of the best ways to keep clean energy growing and meet our climate goals.”

California has been America’s solar energy leader, in large part due to consistently strong support for rooftop solar power. Recent policy changes, however, put the future of rooftop solar panels in the state at risk. In 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ended the state’s net metering policies, which compensated Californians for the excess power from their home solar panels that they fed back to the electric grid and helped to fuel the growth of small-scale solar power. CPUC replaced net metering with a “net billing tariff” that slashed compensation for single-family home owners installing solar and lengthened the payback period for rooftop solar investments. Since this change went into effect, rooftop solar project sales have dropped by about 80%.

“If we want a future powered by clean energy, we need to put rooftop solar wherever we can,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank). “We can help solar flourish by ensuring that our state policies support robust rooftop solar growth, as they have historically.” 

The report recommends that states take into account the full benefits of rooftop solar when determining how to compensate solar panel owners for the electricity they supply to the grid. Among rooftop solar power’s societal benefits, it: reduces dependence on fossil fuels; eases strain on the grid during periods of high electricity demand; increases resilience to threats including extreme weather; and limits the amount of land needed for clean energy, all at a steadily falling cost.

On Tuesday, Asm. Friedman introduced new legislation, AB 2256, to have the state value so-called “non-energy benefits” of rooftop solar such as local air and water quality, resiliency, and local economic development. The legislation is sponsored by Environment California and the Center for Biological Diversity. The press conference recording can be viewed here. On Monday, over 60 organizations submitted letters calling on Governor Newsom, legislative leaders and CPUC commissioners to take immediate action and ensure robust rooftop solar growth in California.

Despite gains over the last decade, rooftop solar power is still a largely untapped resource. The report finds that the United States has leveraged only 1/28th of its rooftop solar potential. Rooftop solar has the technical potential to provide about 45% of the electricity sold nationally in 2022. However, the U.S. only generated about 1.5% of its electricity from rooftop solar panels that same year. California has only tapped about 10% of its rooftop solar generation potential as of 2022.

“Every sunny roof without solar panels is a missed opportunity,” said King.

The report additionally identifies solar incentives, supportive rate design, interconnection policies and permitting processes as four crucial policies that can determine how successful a state is at tapping its rooftop solar potential. California can get rooftop solar power back on track by properly valuing the many benefits of solar.

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Environment California is dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we share, and win real results for our environment. For more information, visit www.environmentcalifornia.org.