California’s legislative session has closed for 2021 and elected officials are beginning to discuss 2022 legislative priorities, undoubtedly strategizing about which groups will likely support or oppose their bills. As many California elected officials ran on progressive platforms, getting buy-in from environmental groups will be a big priority for many Democratic lawmakers.

One group that’s getting a lot of attention from climate activists is the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has a mission to “safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends and has always been traditionally looked at as an environmental organization.” Historically, NRDC has been highly respected and considered a reputable climate organization, with taglines like “Earth’s best defense” and with big wins like preserving critical species and securing broad legal protections for wildlife and marine protected areas. In 2010, NRDC helped to craft the first ever national ocean policy, which improves coordination among states and created a National Ocean Policy. Internationally, NRDC worked with partners to develop a first-of-its-kind United Nations agreement that requires the regulation of bottom trawling. NRDC has done some great work in the climate space. 

NRDC was established as a nonprofit organization 51 years ago and its support or opposition is highly valued, however, its seniority and past wins have allowed the organization to support anti-climate, pro-utility legislation while still being regarded by many as a reputable environmental group, derailing legislation and climate policies. Why would an organization dedicated to protecting the earth support anti-climate policies? While it’s not well known, NRDC has a history of siding with the investor-owned utilities to advance a fossil fuel agenda, although more individuals and organizations are taking notice as of late. 

After John Bryson co-founded NRDC, he served as a commissioner for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and eventually went on to become the CEO of Edison International, which founded the Edison International Institute (EII). EII is a utility-backed organization, which has produced studies biased against rooftop solar and led the attacks on the industry over the years. Taking a deeper look into NRDC’s history, Ralph Cavanagh, a senior lawyer from NRDC, set up the “California Collaborative Process” in 1989, which according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, enabled key environmentalists to "meet behind closed doors with top executives from private utilities to smooth over their differences and hammer out energy-efficiency programs.” 

NRDC has issued at least four joint statements with Edison Electric Institute since 2002 regarding all manner of clean energy policy, which NRDC makes no effort to hide. In 2014, NRDC made a deal with the utility industry in which the utilities would stop fighting the existence of energy efficiency and rooftop solar in exchange for NRDC's support for designing these programs so the utilities can maintain their profit margins. Beyond joint statements from NRDC and utility groups, NRDC has also worked with the utilities to draft anti-climate policies. For example, in 2016, NRDC and the utilities jointly filed for changes to the state’s net energy metering program, the rooftop solar agreement that has helped over one million California families, schools, businesses, cities and organizations to go solar. In 2019, as policymakers were debating whether or not Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) should be held liable for the fires PG&E caused, the LA Times reported NRDC’s ‘Cavanagh thinks state legislators should change the law so that PG&E and other utilities aren’t held liable for fires sparked by their infrastructure unless they’re found to be negligent. “Our utility liability rules are unworkable. They menace every utility in California, and they need to be fixed,” he said. “This is not just about PG&E, and it’s a mistake to treat it as such.”’

Fast forward to this year when we watched NRDC undermine rooftop solar by supporting the “kill solar bill” in California, Assembly Bill 1139, and submitting an anti-solar proposal for the state’s net energy metering program, which will determine the future rooftop solar agreement in California. Beyond that, NRDC has made attempts to derail the net energy metering proceeding by suggesting major changes to the tool that determines how the CPUC values rooftop solar.  Further, the lawyer representing NRDC in the net energy metering proceeding formerly represented PG&E for 15 years, and represented Pacific Gas Transmission Company, a subsidiary of PG&E, for two years.

Environmentalists and climate justice advocates are beyond frustrated with NRDC’s actions. Not only is NRDC selling out to monopoly utility companies supporting environmental racism and accelerating the climate crisis, which often impacts communities of concern first and worst, its actions are causing decision makers to cite “environmental groups support {insert anti-solar initiative}” when in reality, it’s just one so-called environmental group that has a long-standing track record supporting the investor-owned utility companies. NRDC prioritizing that relationship over advocating to keep a proven climate solution an option for California, is not only disappointing, it has major consequences for environmental justice and climate policies. 

When asked about the hypocrisy of NRDC’s disingenuous equity claims about rooftop solar, citing the Vibrant Energy study that shows rooftop solar reduces costs for all ratepayers, and pointing out that the top reasons electricity rates are increasing are because of infrastructure that investor-owned utilities get a guaranteed return on investment on and fire-related costs, NRDC did not address or refute our points and did not provide any facts to defend the organization’s stance. When we asked why over 100 climate and equity organizations opposed Assembly Bill 1139 yet NRDC was the only “environmental group” supporting it, an NRDC employee responded by insinuating that their organization understood the issue better than traditional environmental organizations, which weren’t aware of what exactly they were signing on to. That is not factual and is an insult to the organizations, now a broad, diverse coalition of more than 350 nonprofits, small businesses, labor unions, faith-based groups and other members, many of which meet on a monthly basis to save rooftop solar.

It is clear that NRDC works to push investor-owned utility agendas, therefore it is extremely dangerous for NRDC to continue being characterized as an environmental organization and utilized by decision makers to pass anti-climate legislation and policies during a climate emergency when we need to move away from fossil fuels and towards zero carbon. We urge legislators, CPUC commissioners and other elected officials to not mistake buy-in from NRDC as buy-in from environmental groups, because NRDC does not represent the vast majority of environmental groups nor do NRDC’s actions show it's truly trying to end climate injustices and the climate crisis. Please help us fight for a more just and livable future by spreading the word and by reaching out to NRDC, asking the organization to support rooftop solar as a solution to reduce climate racism and to slow the impacts of the climate crisis. To join us in protecting rooftop solar, please visit www.HelpCleanEnergy.org.

On September 8, the City of Solana Beach became the second jurisdiction in the Golden State to approve a resolution standing up for rooftop solar, sending a strong message to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which will be making a decision later this year on changes to the net energy metering policy in California.  The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a similar resolution earlier this year. Net energy metering is a billing arrangement between rooftop solar producers and their energy providers that credit customers with the excess energy they send back to the grid and debits customers for energy taken from the grid.  This agreement is what has allowed solar to become increasingly accessible to working-class families, small businesses, cities, schools and nonprofit organizations. 

The resolution urging the CPUC to make changes that will keep solar growing sustainably while expanding solar access to low-and-moderate income communities was approved unanimously by the Solana Beach City Council members in a 5-0 vote after hearing public comments overwhelmingly in support of passing the resolution.  Local organizations Climate Action Campaign, SanDiego350 and CleanEarth4Kids joined the Hammond Climate Solutions team along with residents from Solana Beach and the Solar Rights Alliance in calling in to make public comments, letting the Solana Beach City Council know they were in full support of the resolution.  Many others submitted written comments in support of the resolution. 

The only comment that wasn’t emphatically in support of the resolution was unsurprisingly from a San Diego Gas & Electric employee, and the other speakers addressed SDG&E’s disingenuous equity arguments, which council members acknowledged were passionately and accurately relayed. 

“SDG&E and Sempra are trying to mislead the public by citing studies that lack credibility to eliminate rooftop solar, a cost-effective, proven solution that reduces climate racism in California and slows the climate crisis, which often impacts communities of concern first and worst - all of this is to increase their profits,” said Tara Hammond, Hammond Climate Solution’s founder and CEO, “Don’t be fooled by their greenwashing campaigns and disingenuous concerns about equity and raising rates.  It’s proven that rooftop solar reduces rates for all ratepayers and is a net benefit to society.”

In the resolution, the City of Solana Beach “urges the CPUC to strengthen NEM to expand access to all households, particularly of low-and-moderate income; expand access to other clean energy technologies that pair with solar, such as batteries; ensure that the solar installations continue to grow in order to meet State and City climate goals; and exclude provisions set forth in the investor-owned utility companies’ proposal such has high monthly fixed fees, and reducing or eliminating credits for sharing electricity with the power grid.” 

The success of rooftop solar relies heavily on a strong net energy metering, and drastic changes that are being proposed by California’s three investor-owned utility companies have the ability to completely disrupt solar adoption across the state.  Slowing down the transition to clean energy means that we will continue to need more dirty energy to meet our needs which will not only further exacerbate the climate crisis but also climate injustices caused by dirty energy, mainly fracked methane gas.  Beyond the environmental benefits clean energy provides, rooftop solar reduces rates for all ratepayers (estimated by Vibrant Energy to the tune of $120 billion for Californians), strengthens the energy grid when paired with storage, provides local green jobs and reduces the risk of wildfires. 

The decision to approve the resolution comes right after President Joe Biden’s administration released a blueprint to produce 45 percent of the nation’s electricity through solar energy by 2050 as a critical part of the effort to fight climate change.  Meeting this goal will require the U.S. to install an average of 30 GW of solar capacity per year between now and 2025 and 60 GW per year from 2025-2030.  If the utility companies are successful in making drastic cuts to net energy metering in California, the nation’s top solar state, meeting this ambitious goal will likely not be possible. 

As the net energy metering proceeding is heating up at the CPUC during the current proceeding where a proposed decision is expected in November and a final decision is expected in January, more organizations and elected officials are publicly coming out in support of a strong net energy metering that will keep rooftop solar growing. 

Just last month, San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo released a letter he sent to Governor Gavin Newsom and the CPUC commissioners stating “Please protect NEM. Drastic changes by the California Public Utilities Commission will negatively impact customers, perpetrate environmental injustices, accelerate the climate crisis, and shatter California’s clean energy industry.”  Last week Business for Good San Diego released a letter supporting net metering.  Many San Diego organizations are a part of a statewide coalition of 347 organizations ranging from small business to equity to climate advocacy groups representing a true grassroots movement, which recently issued a statement of support to protect rooftop solar in California. 

With the City of Solana Beach leading the way for Southern California, local activists and organizations are pushing for other cities in the region to adopt similar resolutions and send a strong message to commissioners.  Tomorrow, the San Diego Community Power Community Advisory Committee will vote on a net energy metering letter, and on Monday the City of Chula Vista will discuss the future of net energy metering at its Sustainability Commission meeting. 

Other cities and organizations are expected to speak out as well since the stakes are so high.  Ending rooftop solar would impact regional Climate Action Plans’ 100 percent clean energy targets and local community choice energy programs while taking away future opportunities for San Diegans to go solar and exacerbating the climate crisis. 

For latest information and up-to-date calls to action, visit our net metering toolkit. 

As California, America’s leading solar state, continues to evaluate its future solar agreement (net energy metering), it is important to acknowledge the current gaps in adoption of clean energy technologies. Although rooftop solar has become increasingly accessible to low-and-moderate income households in recent years due to a decrease in solar prices, increased financing options and an attractive current solar agreement known as net energy metering 2.0, there are still a number of barriers to adoption. The state has said that California needs to triple the amount of rooftop solar in order to meet our climate goals and that will not happen if we don’t include solutions for our communities of concern. 

1. Overcoming the barrier of homeownership through on-bill financing, community solar and incentives for multifamily solar

The primary barrier to the adoption of solar is home ownership and in order to overcome this barrier, we need to be creative and rethink the traditional financing structures for solar. Thankfully, other states have already addressed this barrier successfully and have developed innovative financing structures that allow renters to receive the benefits of solar. The first strategy is on-bill solar financing which ties re-payment for solar and energy efficiency upgrades to the meter, rather than an individual. Hawaii has successfully created the Green Money $aver program (GEM$), which is the first on-bill financing program that requires no upfront cost or credit check which are two other large barriers to adoption. Renters will enjoy an estimated 10 percent reduction on their utility bill at no upfront cost to the tenant or property owner and the credit can be transferred to the next renter. Another innovative way to overcome the barrier of homeownership is community solar, where renters can subscribe to a portion of a community solar project which will then credit against their utility bill, saving them money and letting them get their energy from clean sources. While California has excelled as the nation's number one solar state, we have fallen behind in our ability to enact legislation that supports community solar projects. Finally, the market for multifamily solar, which makes up about 30 percent of California’s housing market, cannot be ignored. Previous statewide incentive programs played a huge role in rapidly accelerating adoption for single family homes but the adoption for multifamily hasn’t had as much success. The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (“SOMAH”) program is addressing this barrier by providing incentives for multifamily affordable housing that can cover the entire cost of the system. The program is funded through state cap-and-trade funds and has a billion dollar budget over the next 10 years. 

2. Addressing cost barriers through upfront incentive payments 

Another large barrier is high upfront costs for rooftop solar for cash purchases or for portions of state rebates and the 26 percent federal tax credit. California has put billions of dollars behind incentive programs that offer rebates for going solar, however rebates are usually distributed once the system has been installed and interconnected and usually after a lengthy application process, leaving homeowners and property owners to pay the costs for installation and permitting before they ever see a rebate check. Offering upfront payments for incentive programs can eliminate this barrier altogether. Since incentive programs for single family homeowners are beginning to sunset, it's important to also consider no upfront cost financing to address this barrier moving forward, especially for the multifamily sector. Jurisdictions could offer bridge financing programs to address this barrier, which some philanthropists and foundations are currently working to address on a smaller level. 

3. Mending relationships and lack of trust in communities of concern through partnerships with community based organizations

While many solar companies have good intentions, the solar industry has created a barrier because of the lack of trust they have created in communities of concern, which has been plagued by misinformation about solar programs and issues with some less than reputable contractors. Those few bad apples have given the industry a black eye and it’s hurting solar adoption in communities that could benefit from solar the most. It is extremely important that the solar and storage industry, along with program administrators, begin to repair the relationship with communities of concern by partnering with trusted community voices who can provide reliable information to community members in ways that are culturally appropriate and in native languages. The states’ Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program has done a good job recognizing this barrier and contracts with local and statewide community-based organizations to conduct education and outreach to property owners and tenants to provide information about the program and overall benefits of clean energy. Partnering with trusted community partners, in addition to offering solar marketing materials, proposals and contracts in various languages, is a starting point to start building trust. 

4. Protecting existing solar customers from evolving solar policies

Finally, expanding access to rooftop solar will not happen when statewide legislation and changing statewide solar policies continue to threaten the investment that people have made or are considering making. Fighting for strong policies for new solar customers and ensuring that solar continues to grow is one fight, but when policies threaten the contracts that people have signed and been promised, it creates a distrust in the government and cities who have pushed for people to go solar and solar companies who promised customers their contracts would last for 20 years. The investor-owned utilities are getting bolder in their attempts to kill rooftop solar, weaponizing communities of concern in their attempts to kill rooftop solar, forcing utility-scale solar to be a main solution to meeting 100 percent clean energy targets, which would increase rates for all ratepayers. 

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Overcoming the barriers to solar adoption won’t be easy, but they are necessary in order to ensure that we are meeting local climate action plans and statewide climate goals. Hammond Climate Solutions along with partners at Protect Our Communities Foundation, Brevian Energy and the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, recently submitted a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Grant with a proposal for a program that will expand solar in communities of concern using tactics highlighted earlier in this blog. Communities of concern have long been left out of the clean energy transition and its time to invest resources to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies for communities who suffer disportionately from the effects of climate injustices and the climate crisis and are also paying a disproportionate amount of income towards skyrocketing energy bills. Learn more about the current attacks on solar and how you can help defend rooftop solar and expand equitable access to all ratepayers.