Utilities working to thwart solar growth, says student group in Fitchburg

Utilities working to thwart solar growth, says student group in Fitchburg

Rows of solar panels are installed at a solar farm on Route 20 in Charlton in 2013. T&G File Photo/Rick Cinclair

By Paula J. Owen
Telegram & Gazette Staff

Posted Oct. 13, 2015 at 7:04 PM
Updated Oct 14, 2015 at 6:10 AM

FITCHBURG – Large energy companies whose bottom line is at stake as consumers continue to go solar are allegedly making misleading statements about the cost of solar while ignoring the benefits, says a grass-roots, student-led, nonprofit environmental group.

"Blocking the Sun," a new report released by the Environment America Research & Policy Center, alleges that organizations such as the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council are among 12 special interest groups pushing aggressive anti-solar campaigns in an effort to slow the growth of solar energy in the U.S.

At a press conference held by Fitchburg State University’s MassPIRG chapter in the school’s campus center Tuesday, several students held up pro-solar energy signs while others discussed their thoughts on how huge energy conglomerates and those who stand to make profits off fossil fuels are working to undermine solar power growth by pushing for restrictions or unfair caps on net metering, discriminatory surcharges or tariffs for solar customers, unnecessary regulatory burdens on solar energy and rollbacks of renewable electricity standards.

“National Grid and Eversource have been working to undermine solar power here in Massachusetts,” said Andrew P. Snow, solar campaign coordinator for MassPIRG at FSU. “And our report shows that these same tactics are being used by polluters and their allies across the country.”

Solar power is clean, affordable and popular in Massachusetts, said Mr. Snow, a 20-year-old FSU junior from Worcester. Massachusetts is a leader in solar power, he said, ranking fifth nationwide for the amount of solar energy capacity installed per person in 2014. Still, only about 2 percent of the state’s energy is generated from solar, he said. Limitations on net metering and new charges to make rooftop solar power less economically viable are hindering more consumers from going solar, he said. Net-metering caps limit the amount of excess energy solar users are allowed to sell back to the grid.
At least 171 communities in Massachusetts have already reached their net-metering limits, he said. Raising the caps would allow Massachusetts to continue leading the country toward a future fueled by renewable energy, he said.


The report highlights 12 utilities and fossil fuel interests that spend money on lobbyists and other “underhanded techniques” to block solar, Mr. Snow alleges.

“There are 12 electric utilities, fossil fuel interests and powerful industry front groups that are running some of the most aggressive campaigns to slow the growth of solar energy in the United States,” he said. “Behind the scenes, electric utilities, fossil fuel interests and powerful industry front groups have begun chipping away at the key policies that have put solar energy on the map in the United States.”

Paul E. Kelly, 23, a campus organizer with MassPIRG, alleges there is a national network of utility interest groups and fossil fuel industry-funded think tanks providing funding, model legislation and political cover for anti-solar campaigns across the country.

“At the state level, electric utilities have used the support provided by national anti-solar interests, as well as their own ample resources, to attack key solar energy policies,” he said.

This year, at least 21 states had either ongoing or recently resolved proceedings around policies to slow the growth of solar energy, he said.

“I’m not surprised – the industry’s livelihood depends on keeping the status quo - America’s power sources from large, centralized plants transmitted across long distance to businesses and communities,” he said.

Solar is democratic and capitalistic, Mr. Kelly said.

“Communities produce their own power themselves and sell back what is left to the grid for other people to shore up their power needs,” he said. “It is democratic and capitalistic in the true sense of the words – you sell the excess back to the people who need some. At the end of the day, that threatens the entrenched monopolies and business models which rely upon production and shipping energy across long distances.”

State leaders can and should do more to encourage the growth of solar, Mr. Kelly said.

MassPIRG sent Gov. Charlie Baker a package of 500 letters from businesses and residents in April urging him to make a commitment to 20 percent solar power by 2025, Mr. Snow said. Though Gov. Baker has stated publicly he is in favor of a solar program, Mr. Snow said MassPIRG received no response from the governor’s office and attempts to reach him on Twitter using #GoSolarMA and #20by2025 have been ignored.

“It is not so much an ambitious goal – we’re on pace to surpass that,” Mr. Snow said. “We just want a political commitment and Gov. Baker’s endorsement for committing to at least 20 percent.”
FSU junior Vicki K. Page, 20, of Worcester, held up a sign that said, “Don’t block our sun.”

“I believe the net-metering caps are not fair for people who do want to go solar,” she said. “It not only benefits the Earth, but they can sell back their energy. They shouldn’t be limited. Solar is kind of sexy to people when they don’t use all the energy they get and can sell it back. If there is a cap, it is not as attractive. At end of the day, it is their energy. They are getting it from the sun. It’s not fair. It’s manipulative of them.”

She said it is “unsettling” to her that Gov. Baker has not responded.
FSU senior Stephen R. Hilton Jr., 22, of Ashburnham said limitations on solar need to be removed to move forward.

“Inevitably solar is part of our future and it is the safest resource for power,” he said. “I feel like the caps are another block in a long, bumpy road we have to overcome.”

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Blocking the Sun