1. Director, Policy & Electricity Markets, & Regulatory Counsel
The Fight for a Clean Energy Future Presentation for Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)
Sam Jammal
Director, Policy & Electricity Markets, & Regulatory Counsel
September 15, 2016

2. Today’s Presentation Background on the Solar Industry
Benefits of Rooftop Solar
State Campaigns
How You Can Engage

3. About SolarCity
Founded in 2006, SolarCity is a publicly traded company based in San Mateo, CA.
We provide renewable electricity to homeowners, businesses and governmental organizations.
1 out of every 3 new U.S. residential solar customers chooses SolarCity.
We are the largest U.S. solar company by a wide margin with more customers than any other provider, over 12,000 employees, and operations centers across the country.

4. About the Solar Industry
The solar industry is a diverse industry in terms of companies, size and focus.
Utility scale v. rooftop solar/ distributed generation
While CA has traditionally dominated the U.S. solar market - with 44% market share in other markets are continuing to expand, including MA, MD, NY and TX.
Amount of solar currently installed in the U.S.: 31.6 GW.
3,752 schools have solar installations.

5. Models for How a Homeowner or Business Can Go Solar
Cash Sale
Loan
Lease
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – contractual agreement between consumer and solar company to purchase energy from panels
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Program – property taxes as a means of financing solar panels

6. What is Net Metering?
Net metering enables families, businesses and schools, who generate their own electricity from solar power to earn fair credit for the benefit they provide.
Most solar systems produce more electricity than any one customer can consume each day.
Net metering allows the solar customer to sell that excess electricity to the utility the same retail rate that the utility will be selling the excess energy back to the customer’s neighbors.
44 states have net metering policies that require utilities to credit customers for the electricity that they produce that goes onto the grid.

7. Solar Benefits Everyone
Rooftop solar:
Creates jobs
Removes the health cost shift created by dirty power plants
Promotes cleaner, healthier air
Saves consumers money

8. Solar Creates Jobs
According to the Solar Foundation, there are 208,859 solar workers nationwide.
Nearly 1 in 5 solar workers are Latinos.
Median U.S. wage is $17.09.
$21 is the average pay for a solar installer.
$27 is the average for solar designers.
$29 is the average for solar sales, marketing and customer service.

9. Solar Promotes Environmental Justice
Low income communities – particularly African American and Latino communities – are disproportionately located within 30 miles of a power plant.
These families face a high risk of exposure to air pollution, which contributes directly to respiratory issues like asthma and bronchitis.
Latinos, for example, are 60 percent more likely to visit the hospital for asthma, as compared to non-Hispanic whites.

10. Solar Removes Health Cost Shift
Pollution from dirty power plants has shifted a disproportionate health cost on to low income communities.
According to the Obama Administration, clean energy can result in avoiding each year: 
3,600 premature deaths
1,700 heart attacks
90,000 asthma attacks
300,000 missed work and school days

11. Solar Saves Consumers Money
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar customers can save on average 10-20% on their energy bill.
Solar financing options, such as leasing and loans, have removed the upfront cost for a household to go solar and made solar more accessible to communities of color.
Utility costs tend to rise every year, but rooftop solar allows lower and more predictable rates.

12. State Campaigns
Solar fights over net metering and consumer charges are taking place in state legislatures and before state public utilities commissions
The industry and our allies, like Vote Solar, are building coalitions to not only respond to attacks but reshape the conversation to highlight the benefits of solar and pursue a proactive agenda.
Utilities are using their close political and organization ties to build coalitions against rooftop solar with the intention to misinform.

13. Key State Fights
Arizona – Save Our AZ Solar - ongoing rate case fight and election of commissioners this fall
Florida – Floridians for Solar Choice - ballot initiative against rooftop solar this fall
Nevada – Bring Back Solar Alliance - pending rate case and legislative challenges to bring back solar
Massachusetts – pending legislative fight to raise net metering cap
California – Save Rooftop Solar - successful campaign to preserve net metering for investor owned utilities, but ongoing municipally owned utility fights

14. Engage Diverse Voices and the Public to Win

15. Ways to Engage in State Campaigns
The medical voice matters to show that solar is a benefit to all communities.
Sign-on letters with other coalition partners
Public comments before legislative committees or public utilities commissions
Op-eds or letters to the editor discussing the health benefits of solar to the community
Participation in public education events