SolarCity and NRDC Paper: Rooftop Solar Generation Provides Net Benefit to All Nevada Utility Customers
Rooftop solar generation provides 1.6 cents of benefit per kilowatt-hour of energy generated, producing $7 million in benefits annually for all Nevada utility customers, according to a study released today by SolarCity and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). If environmental and health externalities are included, the benefits of rooftop solar increase to 3.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, and $14 million annually. The peer-reviewed paper, “Distributed Energy Resources in Nevada,” is the first to quantify all the rooftop solar cost and benefit variables identified by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.
The paper recommends policymakers and regulators develop advanced grid planning procedures that incorporate these benefits into the utility ratemaking process, which would enable Nevadans to see the benefits on their electricity bills and ensure that the state transitions to a cleaner, more affordable, and resilient grid.
“This study confirms what Nevadans already intuitively know: the thousands of rooftop solar systems across the state benefit all Nevadans, and the state should have policies which encourage the deployment of more distributed energy,” said Jon Wellinghoff, Chief Policy Officer of SolarCity. “As Nevada policymakers are planning the energy grid of the future, we encourage them to consider the potential of distributed energy resources to build a smarter, more resilient grid to power our economy with affordable clean energy.”
“A close examination of the costs and benefits of rooftop solar generation in Nevada confirms that a continued partnership between customers and their utility to promote investment in clean energy benefits everyone,” said Noah Long, Director of the Western Energy Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It will help avoid building unnecessary utility infrastructure that can increase all customers’ bills, and helps cut the carbon pollution that harms our health and fuels dangerous climate change.”
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada last year identified 11 variables that must be quantified to determine the costs and benefits of rooftop solar in Nevada. This analysis is vital to set sound energy policies, such as how photovoltaic solar system owners are compensated for sending excess solar energy to the transmission grid through a policy called “net metering.” However, the Commission determined it had “insufficient time or data” to quantify nine of the variables. The SolarCity/NRDC paper examines the benefit variables left unassessed in the Commission’s 2015 analysis with the aim of providing useful input into future Nevada policy discussions on the benefits of distributed (onsite) solar generation.
These variables include rooftop solar’s potential to reduce:
The amount of energy the electric utility needs to purchase
The number of new power lines that need to be built
Fossil fuel power plant emissions and their health impacts
Regulatory costs, such as meeting Nevada’s pollution reduction targets under the federal Clean Power Plan.
SolarCity and NRDC found when all costs and benefits are quantified, rooftop solar provides $7 – 14 million worth of benefits for Nevada utility customers.
