The Great Solar Rip-Off: By the Numbers
According to Xcel Energy’s regulatory filings, the utility spent $275 million in ratepayer subsidies for customer-sited solar panel systems from 2008-2012.* That breaks down to: $196 Cost of these solar subsidies for each of Xcel Energy’s 1.4 million Colorado customers. .7% Percentage of Xcel Energy customers (approximately 9,200) that benefit from lower electricity rates by […]
Ratepayers Lose Big with PUC’s Solar Settlement
This afternoon the Public Utilities Commission approved a Settlement Agreement to end the Solar*Rewards imbroglio. The Settlement Parties were Xcel, the Office of Consumer Council, the Governor’s Energy Office, Western Resource Advocates, Colorado Solar Energy Industry Association, the Solar Alliance, and Public Utilities Commission Staff. As I explain in detail here, the underlying cause of […]
In Addition to Being Cost-Ineffective, Xcel’s Solar*Rewards Subsidy Is Regressive
In addition to being cost-effective—even by solar power’s expensive standards—Xcel’s controversial Solar*Rewards subsidy program is also regressive. That is, it’s a subsidy for the rich, borne disproportionately by the poor. Elsewhere, I discuss how Solar*Rewards program, a far-too-generous subsidy for the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, became a political hot potato in Colorado (for a […]
Where is Xcel Hiding the Cost of Wind Power?
Under Colorado’s Renewable Electricity Standard, investor-owned utilities in Colorado must generate 12 percent of their electricity from renewable energy this year. The requirement was 5 percent last year. By 2020, it is 30 percent. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar cost more than conventional energy sources like coal and gas, but Colorado lawmakers sought […]
Preview of PUC Deliberations on Solar*Rewards Program
At 11:00 AM this morning, the PUC will take up Docket No. 11A-135E, “In the Matter of the Application of Public Service Company of Colorado for Approval of a Reduction in the Standard Rebate Offer.” In less lawyerly terms, the hearing is on Xcel’s request to lower solar subsidies. The issue is a political hot-potato […]
Colorado Solar Industry’s Insatiable Appetite for Subsidies
With a quivering voice, Jim Walsh, owner of Bella Solar Energy, described his business troubles to the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee. His message, if not his tears, was repeated yesterday morning by six other solar power representatives. They presented a compelling case that “the New Energy Economy is dead,” in the morbid […]
Primer on Colorado’s Solar Mess
On February 16, Xcel filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reduce its Solar*Rewards payment, a subsidy for on-site solar photovoltaic installations, from $2.35/watt installed electricity generating capacity, to $1.25/watt. The next day, Xcel suspended the program, pending the PUC’s decision on its request. Last Friday, solar industry supporters descended on the […]
