The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has a proposed decision in the Community Solar Proceeding (A.22-05-022), which all but ensures that no community solar projects will be developed at a time when the state faces rising energy prices, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
CPUC Headquarters. Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin
“With this proposed decision, which destroys any chance of a viable community solar program in the state, the CPUC has squandered a golden opportunity to help lower energy bills for Californians who desperately need relief from skyrocketing electricity prices,” said Stephanie Doyle, director of state affairs for SEIA California. “The state Legislature made clear in passing AB 2316 in 2022 that it wants a robust program to provide community solar to low-income Californians and to support the resiliency of the electric grid for all ratepayers. But instead of following the law and listening to the broad coalition of Californians who have repeatedly called for a workable community solar program, the CPUC has doubled down on its previous bad decisions on behalf of monopolistic utilities. California deserves better.”
AB 2316, which was signed into law in September 2022, required large utilities serving more than 100,000 customers to create and implement programs that “enable ratepayers to directly participate in off-site electric generating facilities that utilize eligible renewable energy sources,” such as community solar. In 2024, the CPUC rejected a proposal from solar advocacy groups that would support community solar in the state, instead increasing decision-making power owned by local utilities. State lawmakers then tried to pass a new bill last year intended to strengthen and expand the original framework for California’s community solar + storage program, which, among other things, ensured affordability for low-income customers.
The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) framed CPUC’s proposed decision as another step backward for community solar in California.
“While intended to advance implementation, it does not establish a workable community renewable energy program. It omits core elements such as how to enroll customers, bill savings requirements, low-income participation pathways, and alignment with the state’s Title 24 construction requirements. Indeed, the proposed decision lacks the fundamental elements necessary to make projects viable or achieve meaningful savings for customers,” said James McGarry, regional director of CCSA West.
“By limiting compensation to avoided wholesale costs under legacy PURPA-based frameworks and denying the full value that distributed solar and storage bring to the grid, this proposal effectively ensures no projects will be built. In practice, it provides no meaningful route past existing procurement options, asking developers to absorb additional costs without providing additional value. The result is a program that exists in name only, at a time when California urgently needs scalable, affordable solutions to meet the growing demand and rising energy costs,” he continued.
Read the proposed decision here.
