clean energy:

In search of solution, solar industry pivots to data, detente

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Steve Marcus

Justin Smith speaks to solar supporters during a rally in front of Public Utilities Commission offices Wednesday, Jan 13, 2016. Smith said he had lost his job as a district sales manager for Sunrun, a solar lease and installation company.

Wed, May 25, 2016 (2 a.m.)

Facing sometimes strained relationships with state officials, rooftop solar advocates appear to be adopting a less combative approach and coalescing around a less emotional plea to restore favorable rates for rooftop solar customers in Nevada.

The most recent indication of the industry’s shift in approach came Tuesday, when SolarCity released a report concluding that all ratepayers — regardless of whether they are generating power through rooftop solar arrays — should benefit from the technology. The report, conducted with the Natural Resources Defense Council, ran counter to a recent decision by the state Public Utilities Commission that said the proliferation of rooftop solar power would saddle nonsolar ratepayers with higher costs to maintain the power grid.

SolarCity’s report coincided with a Brookings Institution analysis indicating that net metering of solar power yielded benefits for all ratepayers, not just customers generating their own electricity through solar arrays.

The data-driven approach to countering resistance to the rooftop solar power development represents a turn for an industry criticized by state officials and regulators for taking an aggressive tack after the commission’s decision, which largely put a halt to its growth in Nevada.

Then, there's perhaps the biggest sign of a more cooperative stance by the solar industry: Sunrun, a rooftop solar company that had accused Gov. Brian Sandoval of political cronyism, dropped a lawsuit seeking to force the release of his text messages.

“I think we clearly are at a pivot point,” said Rose McKinney-James, a former utility regulator in Nevada. “Some of the tactics that were undertaken during the last legislative session and entering the regulatory process were less than helpful in terms of advancing a productive conversation on this issue.”

How rooftop solar customers should be integrated with the grid is an issue that remains heated. In December, the commission approved a new rate structure that prompted SolarCity and Sunrun to end their sales operations. The new rates tripled a fixed fee for solar customers and slashed the value of credits customers receive for sending excess electricity to the grid under a program known as net metering.

During the regulatory process, solar companies made numerous statements to prod Gov. Brian Sandoval into a prickly debate and connect him to the utility commission’s ultimate decision.

The Alliance for Solar Choice, led by Sunrun, accused him of lying to Nevadans and parroting NV Energy’s arguments. Sunrun filed a lawsuit requesting text messages between the governor and top aides, including two who are lobbyists for NV Energy.

“Sandoval has stuck to NV Energy's script,” said one media release from February. “A script no doubt provided to him by NV Energy's two top lobbyists, who simultaneously serve as de facto members of his administration. And Sandoval is now desperately trying to hide his text messages with these lobbyists to again cover up the truth about who provided these talking points.”

In recent weeks, Sunrun has started to reverse course. Its lawyers and the governor’s office settled the case and had it dismissed earlier this month. On Tuesday, Sandoval met with its CEO and both released statements rebooting their relationship.

Sandoval said, “Sunrun is certainly welcome to participate in Nevada’s efforts to expand clean and renewable energy,” an offer that was immediately accepted by CEO Lynn Jurich. She said she wants to work with the New Energy Industry Task Force, a panel that is looking into this and several other energy issues.

“Following the (utility commission) decision, Sunrun closed its operations in Nevada,” she said. “During those difficult times, statements were made that were not in the spirit of partnership that Sunrun has always intended to have with Gov. Sandoval.”

As Sunrun’s relationship with the governor improves, it appears that its competitor SolarCity is also looking to work with state officials who have criticized the solar industry in the past.

It plans to submit a cost-benefit analysis it released Tuesday to the utility commission in the future. And in April, SolarCity pulled its funding from a group investigating the commission, a move applauded by commission Chairman Paul Thomsen. The firm’s policy chief Jon Wellinghoff, a former Nevada consumer advocate, said Tuesday that he looks forward to working with regulators.

“I think that everybody understands that you need to win both hearts and minds,” said Chandler Sherman, a spokesperson for the Bring Back Solar Alliance, a SolarCity-backed political action group (the company has contributed about $2 million to the group).

“There is definitely a tone of collaboration now,” she added.

The commission indicated Tuesday that it would like to see the SolarCity report. Regulators have said SolarCity too often made its case to the media and suggested in its statement that the type of report SolarCity released could change that perception.

“The (commission) encourages the rooftop solar industry to present any new analysis or studies in upcoming rate cases,” spokesperson Peter Kostes said in an email. “The (commission) hopes that SolarCity's efforts to quantify benefits signals a new commitment to embracing peer review and recognizing the legitimacy of the decision-making process of neutral experts representing the interests of the state of Nevada.”

While the tactics might be changing, both companies remain clear on their end goals: to restore the prior rate structure.

SolarCity is pushing a ballot measure and plans to be active in upcoming regulatory proceedings. Sunrun is appealing the PUC decision in court. NV Energy, which wants to keep the new rates, is pushing back on both fronts with TV ads and legal filings. The utility has spent nearly $1 million on a political group.

McKinney-James, a longtime clean energy advocate, said she is relieved the industry seems to be softening its tone.

“I believe that it will result in a willingness of other parties to come to the table,” she said, stressing the importance of keeping to substantive issues.

This story has been revised to correct the name of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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