WHEN SUN GOES BACK TO CONGRESS

What Solar Should Look for in a National Energy Bill; If a climate bill fails, what national legislation can the solar market hope to see this year?
Shayle Kahn, January 25, 2010 (Greentech Media)

"Prospects for 2010 passage of national climate legislation are dimming. The disappointing outcome in Copenhagen, the prolonged health care debate, and the election of another opposing Senator have led some members of the democratic leadership to all but give up on the issue before the November midterm elections.

"…[S]ome members of the Senate are considering stripping off the energy provisions…viewed as more bipartisan, and passing them alone. There has even been some speculation that an energy bill will be absorbed into a jobs bill…[A] pure energy bill could still have a significant impact on the U.S. solar market… [T]he American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), is also known as Waxman-Markey… passed through the House of Representatives…[T]he Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee did pass a version of the bill, called the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 (ACELA). The full Senate is yet to vote on ACELA…[T]he provisions that will most directly affect the solar market…in either ACES, ACELA, or both."

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"[A] National Renewable [Electricity] Standard [ReS]…[would] require utilities to generate a percentage of their electricity from [New Energy] by a specified date…ACES sets a target of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 with up to 5 percent through energy efficiency, reducing the effective target to 15 percent by 2020. The ACELA [RES] is weaker, requiring only 15 percent renewable energy by 2021 with up to 26.67 percent to be met through energy efficiency…State [RESs] have been most successful in promoting solar when there is specific target for solar power or distributed generation. While neither bill contains such a requirement, they both provide 3x credit multipliers for distributed generation…In order for a national [RES] to truly incentivize solar, it needs to have a larger overall target and specific requirements for solar or distributed generation.

"[A] Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA)…the "Green Bank," …could have a large impact on solar project financing…[A] government-owned corporation would be arranged with the express intent of providing and catalyzing financing for [New Energy]…[S]imilar to other government-run private banks…The Green Bank would have the authority to provide financial assistance…including loans, loan guarantees, and insurance products…The key element here is capitalization…[A] Green Bank should be allocated significantly more than the $7.5 billion to $10 billion offered in ACES and ACELA. SEIA suggests a minimum of $50 billion, with authority to issue bonds for another $50 billion…[to] provide a valuable service to the solar industry."

Like net metering, many of the things on solar's legislative agenda are part of the Solar Bill of Rights. Click thru to find out more.

"Interconnection and Net Metering Provisions…are present in varying degrees at the state level and provide the backbone of every growing solar market…ACES addresses net metering for federal facilities, but not for the general public. ACELA requires national interconnection standards, but doesn't cover net metering. Ideally, a national energy bill will ultimately include both.

"The battle to pass a comprehensive climate/energy bill isn't yet lost. The New York Times editorial board just released a worthy call for President Obama to make the case for a 2010 climate bill during his State of the Union address this week. And the issue is too important to leave unresolved, even if just to ride out the midterm elections…[D]ebate over energy legislation [will] begin in earnest once the health care debate subsides…"