Opinion: Here is one way California can end its rooftop solar wars
LA TimesCalifornia needs to accelerate rooftop solar deployment, not constrain it. Because California has long been a leader in rooftop solar policy, the commission’s decisions may be imperiling rooftop solar elsewhere: Last month, Hawaii instituted similar cuts to its incentives. Without incentives, though, it doesn’t make financial sense for most Californians to install rooftop solar, meaning we all get less of this badly needed common good. We need to restore financial support for rooftop solar — but let’s do so equitably, through our progressive tax code, and redistribute the costs of clean energy away from California’s most vulnerable residents. By changing the way rooftop solar incentives are paid, we can regain our climate leadership, restore lost solar jobs and move past the rooftop solar wars toward a more sustainable future for everyone.