Surprise support: Some GA Senate Republicans back expansion of residential solar power

In the current Georgia General Assembly legislative session, advocates for the expansion of residential solar energy have found support from what might in previous years have seemed a surprising quarter: Georgia Senate Republicans.

Last week, a group of state senators, including members of the leadership of both parties, introduced a bill that would increase the number of Georgia Power customers permitted to be credited at retail rates for electricity they feed into the power grid from solar panels on their houses.

Georgia Power has long opposed the expansion of this billing mechanism, known as net metering, which is currently capped at just 5,000 participants. And last fall, the Republican-dominated Public Service Commission controversially refused to raise the cap on the program during hearings on a rate hike.

The new Senate bill, the Georgia Homegrown Solar Act (SB 210) was introduced by majority caucus chair Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Paulding) and co-sponsored by majority whip Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula).

Georgia Power spokesperson John Kraft told the Telegraph in an email the utility opposes SB 210.

“We support the growth of rooftop solar for customers who choose to install it, however, we do not support policies that shift costs to non-participants. SB 210 would result in the unbalanced growth of rooftop solar, raising reliability concerns and increasing costs for customers who cannot afford or choose not to install solar, which is why we oppose this bill,” he wrote.

Solar advocates have long disputed the cost-shift argument, arguing that the actual impact on non-solar customers would be negligible.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Robertson said Georgia Power’s opposition to expansion of the program stemmed from fealty to its investors’ bottom line — “But what we have to convince these shareholders is that they got to make a little bit less money, possibly, while we’re expanding a better model of clean energy moving forward, and I promise you there will be a substantial return on their investment.”

Of the expansion of net metering, Robertson said, “We have to convince them it’s not an attack on their business model; it’s only a partnership between the average Joe citizen who wants to cut their energy costs at the peak times. I think what makes this so different is over these past few years in Georgia, Republicans have really been the drivers behind this, which is an anomaly that you won’t find in other states.”

Industry lobbyist Don Moreland, chair of the Georgia Solar Association, said there is growing Republican support for residential solar in the legislature.

“There’s a good handful of folks there that recognize that it’s a free market issue,” Moreland told the Telegraph. “It lets people do what they want with their own property and generate their own electricity. It aligns very well with what might be considered traditional conservative principles as it pertains to free markets and property rights and things like that.”

Moreland said the passage of SB 210 would be especially impactful in the context of the state’s rapidly growing electricity rates.

“Solar works as a hedge against increasing rates, because, if you think about it, the fuel source for solar is free — it’s the light that falls on your property every day and there’s very little operating and maintenance required,” Moreland said. “I can’t say it’s a set-it-and-leave-it technology, but it’s one of those that’s not going to increase in cost over the years. What that means is every time there’s a rate increase it makes your solar even more valuable.”

Top Senate Democrat withdraws support

In order to actually pass, the bill will most likely need Democratic support in addition to the influential Republicans who co-sponsored it.

This didn’t seem like a problem when the bill was first introduced, as two members of the minority leadership — minority leader Sen. Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) and minority caucus vice-chair Sen. Sonya Halpern (D-Buckhead) — were also co-sponsors.

But last week, in a move that blindsided some of the bill’s advocates, both of these Democratic senators removed their names from the bill.

Halpern later reversed this decision and reattached her name to the bill, and did not respond to requests for comment.

Butler told the Telegraph she withdrew her support because “I don’t have a really really good understanding of net metering and how all that works. You know, you get talked to in scientific terms and legal terms, and if you’re not understanding that then you’re not gonna make a good decision, so I felt like I hadn’t made a good decision.”

Asked if she would share her reasons for changing her mind, Butler said simply, “No.”

The bill is unlikely to pass the General Assembly this year, as Monday is “Crossover Day,” the legislative calendar’s deadline by which bills must generally be introduced in both houses to pass.

But Georgia’s legislature operates in two-year cycles.

“During this first year here, we’re able to see where all the opposition is and hopefully address their concerns. And if we don’t get it passed early this year, then hopefully we can next year,” Robertson said.