Andrew Kellar, president of Stratham-based NHSolarGarden, remembers vividly when the net metering cap was reached in Liberty Utilities’ service areas.

It was last July 30, at a NH Public Utilities Commission prehearing, called to standardize requirements to get in the queue for solar energy projects eligible for the net metering program. In the case of Liberty, which had about a megawatt of capacity left, the payment of an interconnection impact fee would be sufficient.

NHSolarGarden had designed a 1.3-megawatt solar array for a Salem landfill owned by a private recycling company, so Kellar whipped out his checkbook and wrote a $13,000 check right on the spot, though construction of the project wouldn’t start until the spring. But the cap was reached.

That agreement, however, put 17 of the 68 homeowners and businesses that the Enfield Energy Emporium had signed up for solar rooftops in the Upper Valley in the shadow of uncertainty.

“When Liberty hit their cap, which basically crashed the program, it left many installers and homeowners confused and disappointed,” testified the Enfield Energy Emporium’s Kim Quirk at an NH Senate hearing in January.

Quirk and Kellar both want to lift the current 50-megawatt cap that has put a lid on what had been explosive growth of the state’s solar industry. Lawmakers appear to be ready to do that somewhat, but at deadline, the cap is still there and has been reached by every utility except for Until.

Lawmakers created that cap, which is apportioned among the state’s four electric utilities, some 17 years ago – a time when a limit no one thought it would be reached. It took 13 years before the state produced its first five megawatts through solar energy, two years for the next five, one year for next, six months to add 10 more and by the by the end of 2015, 30 megawatts have already been put into service.

CONCORD — Hoping to avoid layoffs in the growing solar energy sector, lawmakers have decided to double the size of a program designed to encourage solar power installations.

The program, known as net metering, rewards owners of solar panels by allowing them to sell surplus electricity back into the grid and get credit on their electric bills, which offsets the cost of the panels.

New Hampshire households use about 4,000 megawatts on a hot summer day, but only 50 megawatts have been allowed into the net metering program for the past 10 years.

The state hit that limit a month ago, as solar took off in 2015, and has been struggling with the issue ever since. Lawmakers first drafted a bill, HB1116, raising the limit to 75 megawatts to give regulators time to figure out a long-term solution.

Solar industry lobbyists argued that the new limit of 75 megawatts would be quickly exhausted, and force them to lay off workers. State representatives apparently took heed, and on Feb. 17 the House Science Technology and Energy Committee voted 19-0 to amend HB1116 to allow up to 100 megawatts under existing rules.

The increase to 100 megawatts was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, and Wilton State Rep. Frank Edelblut, R-Wilton, a candidate for governor. Gov. Maggie Hassan supports the increase, as does Eversource, the state’s largest utility.

Thanks in large part to state and federal incentives, the cost to install solar PV systems has decreased 400 percent over the last eight years, while technology advancements have improved system efficiency. As a result, the cost of solar energy is approaching the point at which governmental incentives will no longer be necessary. In recognition of the continued need for governmental incentives for the near term, President Obama recently signed into law a bill that extended the Investment Tax Credit and Bonus Depreciation, both of which have been instrumental in the growth of the U.S. solar industry.
The current strength of solar is unquestionable. New solar facilities are coming online at a pace that exceeds those powered by coal, natural gas and oil combined. The solar industry is generating jobs at a pace 20 percent greater than that of the U.S. economy as a whole, with the country’s solar industry now responsible for more than 200,000 full-time jobs. The U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that the extension of the federal tax incentives will lead to a 25-percent increase in U.S. solar capacity, fueled by a 15-percent increase in solar sector jobs in 2016.
Further emphasizing the importance that renewable energy will play in the future of U.S. energy policy, President Obama has promulgated the Federal Clean Power Plan and executed the Paris Climate Change Agreement. There is little doubt that solar power must play a significant role in achieving the emission reductions required by these agreements. As a result, the U.S. solar industry is positioned for significant growth.
Notwithstanding all that the U.S. solar industry has going for it, some states are taking actions that may not only stall the growth of the industry within their borders, but may reverse many of the advancements that have made solar such an important part of the future of U.S. energy policy.