With so much support, who wants to phase out rooftop solar incentives? Answer: Indiana utilities

It’s the credits people with solar panels on their roof get for delivering extra energy back to the grid. A lot of people like it. It makes solar more affordable. But those credits are getting phased down this year. The fact that utilities don’t like it could be the reason.

[markgross]

Giving rooftop solar owners retail rate credit for what they send back to the grid eventually will be untenable unless utilities move to a distributed generation model that they're going to have to adopt someday anyway. Photovoltaics aren't going away, and are only going to get more common, not to mention more affordable. On one hand, the utilities don't pay large power producers the same retail rate they charge their customers, but on the other, they benefit from the stability that rooftop solar offers to their communities, especially when demand outpaces supply. One option would be to move to a Value of Solar Tariff, but that would require utilities to have variable retail rates (non-industrial customers paying a higher rate per kWh the more they use), and crediting homeowners who send electricity back to the grid at the lowest retail rate.

[markgross]

Giving rooftop solar owners retail rate credit for what they send back to the grid eventually will be untenable unless utilities move to a distributed generation model that they're going to have to adopt someday anyway. Photovoltaics aren't going away, and are only going to get more common, not to mention more affordable. On one hand, the utilities don't pay large power producers the same retail rate they charge their customers, but on the other, they benefit from the stability that rooftop solar offers to their communities, especially when demand outpaces supply. One option would be to move to a Value of Solar Tariff, but that would require utilities to have variable retail rates (non-industrial customers paying a higher rate per kWh the more they use), and crediting homeowners who send electricity back to the grid at the lowest retail rate.