With State Poised to Squash Rooftop Solar, Clean Energy Fight Heats Up In Nevada [View all]

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/01/13/state-poised-squash-rooftop-solar-clean-energy-fight-heats-nevada

Renewable energy advocates in Nevada are outraged by the state's solar-killing moves, and they're not going down without a fight.

The state's Public Utilities Commission considered requests Wednesday from solar company groups, homeowners, activists, and the state consumer advocate to put a stay on a rate hike that took effect January 1.

The Republican-appointed Commission (PUC) in late December voted to increase a fixed monthly fee for solar customers by about 40 percent while simultaneously reducing the amount customers get paid for excess power they sell to the grid. It also made these changes retroactive—a move one solar executive said would "sabotage" consumers' investments.

Clean energy advocates swiftly decried the changes, which have left the state's solar sector "in turmoil."

Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, said the move would "destroy the rooftop solar industry in one of the states with the most sunshine."