Tag Archives: Renewable Portfolio Standards

Solar bills in the Georgia legislature

Every year since about 2000 one or more solar bills have been before the Georgia legislature to modify the 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act to enable solar financing. 2015 could be the year one of them finally passes, what with influential people finally waking up to the cost-saving and energy-independence power of solar panels. If you want real energy reliability, lower power bills, and local jobs, you can help pass whichever bill gets before the legislature this year, and right now is a good time to help draft that bill.

Here are a few recent bills.

Rooftop solar catching on; 1973 anti-finance law really needs fixing

People are starting to wake up as the solar sun rises above their horizon. This could be the year the Georgia legislature finally passes a bill to amend the law that inhibits solar financing. Even the City of Valdosta seems suddenly interested in helping with that.

Michael Caputo and Grant Blankenship, GPB, 12 December 2014, (VIDEO) Will Solar Power’s Surge in Georgia Make It To Homeowners?,

Early adopter Creighton Rosental of Macon is what you’d call a solar pioneer. The early adopter said that he had the 4-kilowatt panels installed on the backyard side of his roof about five years ago. Two-thirds of the upfront cost—about $30,000—was covered by a federal tax credit and a Georgia state credit.

“They built a frame and mounted it to the roof, which was a substantial fairly substantial enterprise.” Rosental said.

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Georgia missing out on solar jobs behind New Jersey and Michigan

Other states, even New Jersey and far-north Michigan, are beating Georgia to solar jobs. Why isn’t sunny Georgia leading in one of the fastest-growing industries in the country that is deploying rural jobs everywhere else? Hint: who’s holding a shareholder meeting this month?

Carin Hall wrote for energydigital 13 May 2013, Solar Jobs Outnumber Texas Ranchers and US Coal Miners: New statistics show that solar is one of the fastest growing industries in the US, creating thousands of jobs across the country

There are now more solar energy workers in the state of Texas than there are ranchers, according to solar research group The Solar Foundation.

The group’s data mapping out solar jobs across the nation also showed that there are more solar jobs in California than actors, and more solar workers than coal miners nationwide. Sunny states like California and Arizona topped the list. Wyoming came in last, with just 50 workers, while Utah showed a mere 290 solar workers despite being one of the country’s sunniest states.

Even the states with less sunshine like New Jersey and Michigan showed a high number of solar jobs—thanks to favorable tax and regulatory policies that help attract developers to cope with high electricity prices.

New Jersey is #9 and Michigan is #15 according to The Solar Foundation’s map of State Solar Jobs. Where’s Georgia? Number 41 in solar jobs per capita. Yet Michigan is #47 by maximum solar resource and New Jersey is #36, while Georgia is #18: much sunnier than those northern states. Why is Georgia so far behind?

LEGAL STATUS OF THIRD-PARTY OWNERSHIP: NOT ALLOWED

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