Senator Fraser’s distributed solar generation bill – SB 545 – passed to engrossment in the Senate today and will now move on to the House. This bill creates a five-year incentive program, administered by electric utilities, for commercial and residential customers to increase the amount of distributed solar generation installed. The incentive program would be funded by a nominal monthly fee on residential, commercial and industrial customers. The program would generate an estimated $50 million per year and lead to approximately 70 MWs of on-site renewables by 2015.
Public Citizen has posted a helpful guide to the bill as passed today on their excellent Texas blog Citizen Vox. Of particular interest are the amendments:
A few good amendments also got tacked on at the 11th hour, so now the bill also contains:
- net metering language, so that folks with solar panels on their homes will be able to sell power back into the grid at a fair rate
- an amendment so that Home Owner’s Associations won’t be able to prevent people from putting solar panels on their homes unless the HOA can prove it is dangerous
- a website requirement so that PUC will have to provide information to the public on solar incentives and subsidies available
- a requirement that electrical coops and munis have to adopt a similar solar program and report back to the lege in 3 years to prove they’ve done their homework
The bill now moves on to the House where several distributed renewable generation bills, including Rep. Anchia’s HB 278, are currently pending in the House Committee on Energy Resources. Congratulations to all the legislators, staffers, and advocates who have been working to make this the solar session.
2011 ACT Legislative Agenda
ACT's 2011 Legislative Agenda is now available online. In 2011, ACT calls on the Texas Legislature to safeguard our health and our environment by adopting key recommendations in air, clean energy, land, waste & recycling, water and reform of our state government.
