Letter: Fee would kill solar industry

Recently Public Sevice Commissioner Clyde Holloway proposed enacting a fee (up to $50 per month) to net-metering photo voltaic (PV) solar customers in Louisiana. Net-metering is the process where customers who have solar panels, which produce more electricity than they use for their home, can sell the electricity back to the grid.

This fee would essentially kill our state’s solar electric industry. A monthly fee of only $25 would negate most, if not all, of the solar generated electric savings seen by residential PV generators.

The solar industry, through contractors and suppliers, generates thousands of jobs throughout our state. We need all the jobs we can get.

Also, the excess electric power that is generated by the PV systems that is sold back to the utility companies is a one-for-one proposition, The PV generators are not making a profit. But, we are helping the utility companies when they need power at the peak demand times. And, the power that we, as PV electricity generators produce and provide back to the grid, is clean energy. It is not produced by less-than-clean and risky electricity generators such as coal and nuclear power plants.

Stand behind our state’s clean, solar generating customers.

Donald Pulliam

counter-terrorism consultant

Port Vincent

Comments

1) Comment by civitasiveritas - 09/11/2012

@tradewinns: as usual, sir, you make no sense at all. The cost of meter reading in most new systems is effectively zero, since most are read digitally from the system, not from the "meter reader." For older systems, still being read, you need to note that most, if not all solar system owners actually are not net providers of electricity, all the time. Instead, during certain times of the day, and or year, they actually use, and pay for, energy from the power company. In addition, using the capacity of the green energy reduces the need for additional power plants. The TVA system in a number of studies determined that energy conservation (or the use of green technologies) reduced the overall cost of energy production.

2) Comment by DMJ - 08/11/2012

The fee would kill the solar industry? That's the point. We live in a fossil fuel state. What do you expect? The state will never, ever, ever allow people to fully realize the benefits of clean, alternative energy. Not in this political climate.

3) Comment by tradewinns - 08/11/2012

oh stuff it. if the meters must be read, someone has to pay for it. so why should those of us who can not afford solar panels pay for those who can so they can save (make) even more money. enjoy your "free" electricity and feel sorry forthose of us who are poor and have to pay full price.