Update On Missouri Court Solar Litigation

* SOLAR IS HERE TO STAY IN MISSOURI * THE "POST DISPATCH" WAS WRONG WHEN REFERRING TO THE "EXPECTED CRASH OF THE SOLAR INDUSTRY" * ARGUMENTS THE LOWER COURT RECENTLY USED FOR DECLARING THE SOLAR REBATE "ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL" ARE NONSENSICAL Renewable Energy Activists, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMAILS TO THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE! Your email response thanking him for intervening in the solar rebate case and requesting a stay was great! We expect to hear soon if the stay will be granted. The recent legal action to make solar rebates unconstitutional has been making headlines in Missouri and across the country. We have been responding and trying to get the real story told. Read Director PJs Wilsons response below and watch for The Columbia Missourian story out today. WE COULD USE YOUR HELP TO GET THE REAL STORY IN LOCAL PAPERS. PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL OUR STORY BELOW TO YOUR LOCAL PAPER. Tell them you think this is an important story for them to follow. If you can forward any news reports on this issue to Carla@RenewMo.org that would be very helpful. SOLAR IS HERE TO STAY IN MISSOURI A recent article in The Post Dispatch painted a gloom-and-doom slant on the recent court decision against solar rebates in Missouri, referring to the "expected crash of the solar industry", which is far from true. The truth is that the solar industry has been around in Missouri for over 15 years, and the solar rebate helped catapult the technology towards mainstream adoption in the last two years. However, dramatically falling prices for solar panels, a hefty 30% federal tax incentive, and increased competition also mean that, even without the existence of a solar rebate, the price of solar systems would be way less today than it was three years ago. Make no mistake about it - in an arena where "every" form of energy is subsidized - and none more than the fossil fuel industry - solar would certainly suffer in Missouri if its state subsidy was taken away. But it wont be - because the arguments the lower court recently used for declaring the solar rebate "illegal and unconstitutional" are nonsensical. The Public Service Commission and Attorney General, as well as the solar industry itself, are committed to upholding the law as written, and challenging this lower courts flawed logic. The courts misconceptions are actually reflective of commonly held beliefs about solar, and this provides an opportunity for Missouri to learn about the real benefits solar has to offer. * First, the court asserts that utilities receive "no benefit" for the solar rebates they pay out. In reality, the PSC requires solar systems that receive rebates to stay in place for at least 10 years, ensuring that this generation is online. And the times that these systems are online are typically the times when its the most expensive for utilities to generate power themselves. The more solar thats online, the less utilities have to pay for their most expensive power plants to fire up during the hot, sunny afternoon hours. * Additionally, as opposed to independently financing and paying for new electricity generation, when utility companies pay solar rebates, theyre paying only a fraction (perhaps 33%) of the cost of the solar system. The rest is covered by the federal government and the customers checkbook. This means that, from the utilitys standpoint, theyre bringing reliable generation online for less money per kilowatt-hour produced than they could ever hope for by building new coal or nuclear. If this isnt a "benefit to the utility", as well as to the rest of the ratepayers and the public, I dont know what is. * The judge also states that it doesnt change the utilitys electricity portfolio even "by one kilowatt". Hes right - using Amerens own numbers, the 442 kW of solar installed as a result of their rebate program wouldnt generate "one kilowatt" - it will actually generate 552 Mega-watt hours (552,000 kilowatt-hours) of electricity per year in Missouri. The truth is that solar is here to stay in Missouri. Panel prices have fallen by over 300% in the last 5 years, and the total combined renewable energy installed in the US just surpassed the amount of nuclear energy installed. The solar rebates have done a good job helping Missouri catch up with the rest of the nation, and I believe that the lower courts decision will be thrown out, and solar rebates will be up and running again in Missouri soon. PJ Wilson Columbia, MO Director of Renew Missouri WANT TO HELP VOLUNTEER WITH RENEW MISSOURI? The latest attack on renewable energy by the courts only highlights the importance of why another ballot initiative written to address every issue is likely our most viable route. Please indicate your ability to help with another ballot initiative and other actions by visiting our Volunteers Welcome page. Thank you for supporting clean energy in Missouri! Carla Klein Renew Missouri Missouri Coalition for the Environment 6267 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 2E St. Louis MO 63130 *Scotts Contracting*Green Me UP-Scotty scottscontracting@gmail.comhttp://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.comhttp://scottscontracting.wordpress.com Twitter Facebook See the entire article at http://blog.stlouisrenewableenergy.com