The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a proposed decision in the Community Solar Proceeding (A.22-05-022) that virtually ensures that no community solar projects will be developed at a time when the state is facing surging energy prices, states the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
CPUC headquarters. Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin
“With this proposed decision that crushes any chance of a viable community solar program in the state, the CPUC has wasted a golden opportunity to help lower utility bills for Californians in desperate need of relief from skyrocketing electricity prices,” said Stephanie Doyle, SEIA California state affairs director. “The state legislature made it clear in passing AB 2316 in 2022 that it wants a robust program to provide community solar to low-income Californians and to support grid resilience for all ratepayers. But instead of following the law and listening to the broad coalition of Californians who have repeatedly called for a workable community solar program, the CPUC has doubled down on its past bad decisions at the behest of monopoly utilities. California’s ratepayers deserve better.”
AB 2316, signed into law in September 2022, required large utilities serving more than 100,000 customers to create and implement programs that “enable ratepayers to participate directly in offsite electrical generation facilities that use eligible renewable energy resources,” such as community solar. In 2024, the CPUC rejected a proposal from solar advocacy groups that would support community solar in the state, instead putting more decision-making power into local utility hands. State legislators then attempted last year to pass a new bill designed to strengthen and expand the initial framework for California’s community solar + storage program, guaranteeing affordability to low-income customers, among other stipulations.
The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) framed CPUC’s proposed decision as another step backward for community solar in California.
“While it purports to move implementation forward, it does not establish a workable community renewable energy program. It omits core elements such as how to enroll customers, bill savings requirements, low-income participation pathways and alignment with the state’s Title 24 building requirements. Indeed, the proposed decision lacks the fundamental elements needed to make projects viable or deliver meaningful savings to customers,” said James McGarry, CCSA West regional director.
“By limiting compensation to wholesale avoided cost under legacy PURPA-based frameworks and declining to recognize the full value that distributed solar and storage provide to the grid, this proposal effectively ensures that no projects will be built. In practice, it offers no meaningful pathway beyond existing procurement options, asking developers to absorb additional costs without providing additional value. The result is a program in name only, at a time when California urgently needs scalable, affordable solutions to meet growing demand and rising energy costs,” he continued.
Read the proposed decision here.
