East Valley homeowners concerned about end of solar energy program

Adrian Reyes is usually full of energy, whether it’d be working for Renova Solar in Palm Desert, or thinking of converting to solar energy at his home in Indio.

“It makes sense,” Reyes said. “It’s good for the environment. It’s also saving me financially in money. That way, instead of wasting, I’m actually producing my own electricity.”

But now, Reyes and other people living parts of the East Valley said they’re turned off on going solar.

After getting thousands of requests, the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) ended their net metering program to let solar customers keep any excess energy produced by their solar panels.

Residents and local solar companies said the move changed the way excess solar energy gets stored, and raised some concerns.

“You don’t use all the power that your solar generates in a day,” Renova Solar Vice President of Business Development Lea Goodsell said. “It goes onto the grid, and then when you need it in the evening, or when you’re back in your home, you just pull that power back out. But now without net metering, it’s like, ‘Thank you very much for that power. We’re going to keep it, and then we’re going to sell it.”

Goodsell said residents may not get as much bang for their buck, with excess energy now going to IID.

“Without the ability to have the extra energy that you generate stored so that you can pull back and equal the amount of energy yourself, it doesn’t make sense now to install solar at all,” Goodsell said. “The rest of the 120,000 families living in the Imperial Irrigation District that were interested in going solar no longer have that option available to them.”

In a statement, IID said, “IID strongly supports California’s clean energy goals and we also support our customers who make the choice to install solar at their homes or businesses. IID ratepayers can add solar and continue to receive the benefits that solar power brings; however, we are continuing on our path to eliminate the subsidy from non-solar customers to solar customers.”

While Reyes and others said they hope to see a solution turned on soon.

“I hope they overturn it, and actually reinstate the net metering program,” Reyes said. “It’s really a no-brainer for everyone.”

“They want to contribute to less carbon being put into the atmosphere, they want to do their part to be green, they want to save money for themselves, they ought to have the right to do that,” Goodsell said.

As far as interconnectivityrequests, IID said it will still take them for customers.

Goodsell said the move will not affect anyone who turned on their power, and filled out all necessary paperwork before March 2nd.