Lifting SC solar cap won’t do much good by itself. But this will.

The short-lived euphoria over what had looked like passage of the pro-solar H.4421 overlooked a last-minute concession to the pro-utility legislators that would have ended full-value net metering, and allowed the utilities to pay the homeowner about 5 cents/kilowatt-hour for solar-generated power.

This little change would have killed residential solar, because individual rooftop solar installation depends on homeowners being able to sell a kilowatt-hour of electricity for the same price they would purchase it. The homeowner essentially stores on the grid the excess power produced by his system during the day, and pulls it back off the grid at night when the system is idle.

Solar isn’t cheap, but with both federal and state tax credits, full-value net metering and improvements in technology, I finally opted to install a 12-kW system on my house last year. In the first year, it generated 88 percent of my needs and saved me about $2,000 on my power bill.

At this rate, it will take about 10 years to recoup my initial investment. But if I only received 5 cents/kWh for the power that went to the grid, as H.4421 proposed, my payout would jump to 17 years.

Let’s be realistic. No prudent investor is going to put up substantial capital with the hope of a 17-year payout. A lot can happen in that length of time, considering the unpredictability of government and the undeniable power of the utility lobby.

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6 days to go, and the SC Senate hasn’t even touched our worst VC Summer problems

Death of solar energy bill shows SCE&G, other utilities still write SC energy policy

You heard about the utilities’ first attack on solar. Do you know about their second?

If we use solar, why should utilities get to charge us for electricity we don’t use?

Nuclear debacle shows need for real reform

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As if that wasn’t enough, our president recently slapped a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels (the vast majority are imported), which will also damage solar. Nothing could make the utilities happier. After all, what good is a monopoly if you can’t control market share and profit?

Here’s a radical thought. Why not deregulate electric power in South Carolina like Texas successfully did many years ago? As a former Texas resident, I can assure you I was paying a lot less for power on the open market without any sacrifice in reliability. Just imagine, power companies competing for your business. The current rates in Texas are 9.5 cents/kWh. Compare that to SCE&G.

Solar technology will no doubt continue to improve, much like computers and flat screen TVs. But if our legislators cave to the utilities on reduced-price net metering, near-term solar growth will end regardless of raised caps or other incentives.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Lifting SC solar cap won’t do much good by itself. But this will.."