Solar fight in Puerto Rico stirs fears of a California-style backslide – E&E News by POLITICO
A fight over rooftop solar incentives in Puerto Rico has clean energy advocates fearing the territory could be on the verge of following in California’s footsteps and undermining the fast-growing industry.
The dispute pitting lawmakers, the renewable energy industry and environmentalists against the powerful board that oversees the territory’s finances threatens to disrupt Puerto Rico’s efforts to meet its renewable energy goals.
A law signed by Puerto Rico’s governor this year extended the territory’s net metering policies for at least six years in an effort to support the growing solar industry. But the oversight board is expected to sue to block the law, contending it infringes on the right of Puerto Rico’s independent energy regulator to make those types of decisions. The dispute is creating uncertainty over whether Puerto Ricans who sell power back to the grid will continue to be paid to do so, at what levels and for how long.
Renewable energy companies and solar supporters fear an erosion in the rooftop incentives would deliver the same blow to the territory that California’s rooftop solar market suffered after state regulators’ 2022 decision to slash reimbursements for homeowners there. The following year, the state saw a 77 percent drop in rooftop solar sales and the loss of 11,000 jobs, according to the California Solar and Storage Association.
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