A coalition of clean energy, consumer protection and environmental groups submitted a motion on July 25 for a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of a new California rule that would severely restrict solar energy contractors from installing and maintaining battery storage systems.
The rule, which was approved by the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) in April, prohibits licensed solar contractors from adding batteries to existing solar panels or performing maintenance on batteries, including those they previously installed themselves. The rule was approved by the CSLB on behalf of the state’s investor-owned companies and their affiliated unions, despite the fact that the board’s own investigations have found no safety issues or incidents in all residential batteries installed to date nationwide have been installed, including 100,000 batteries in California alone. .
Clean energy advocates say the rule will severely hurt small businesses, result in the loss of even more green jobs and dramatically slow California’s progress in expanding local energy storage capacity at a critical time.
“This misleading decision by the licensing board vastly limits who consumers can turn to for solar storage, without any real evidence of a safety issue,” said Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG, one of the plaintiffs. “This red tape will slow service, increase costs for consumers and make it more difficult for California to achieve its clean energy goals.”
The preliminary injunction, filed in San Diego County Superior Court, states that the CSLB violated state law by failing to properly assess the economic and environmental impacts of the new rule. The plaintiffs claim this will cause immediate and irreparable harm by forcing hundreds of solar companies to reduce their workforces or close completely, while harming consumers and undermining the growth of renewable energy storage, which is essential for reliability of the electricity grid and achieving climate objectives.
Clean energy and environmental plaintiffs are asking the court to block the rule from taking effect on Oct. 1, 2024, while their legal challenge continues. The preliminary injunction is based on the fact that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits because the CSLB failed to follow the Administrative Procedures Act or the California Environmental Quality Act in several significant ways, including failing to consider alternatives or the economic investigate impact. on small businesses.
If implementation is not suspended, the rule will cause irreparable harm in the form of loss of business, professional reputation, customer goodwill, employment and the disruption of contracted guarantees, the motion said.
The motion further argues that a preliminary injunction serves the public interest by promoting solar and battery installations, which are critical to expanding renewable energy storage in California, to increase energy reliability in the face of wildfires and power outages, and to combat global climate change.
Now that the rules have changed, there are simply not enough certified electricians available to meet the demand for new storage capacity, while there are licensed solar contractors available who have been installing and maintaining storage systems for 40 years with an excellent track record in the field of safety, according to the CSLB itself. research.
“This permitting trick is straight out of the utility playbook and will cause electricity prices to skyrocket while worsening the climate crisis,” said Roger Lin, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “People are dying from extreme heat and California urgently needs smart, resilient energy solutions. Instead, the administration supports a fragile power grid that destroys critical habitat and promotes environmental injustice.”
The CSLB rule is just the latest attack on rooftop solar and storage in California.
“California continues to say one thing and do another when it comes to fighting climate change,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of CALSSA. “Over the past year, California has reduced incentives for rooftop solar, banned self-generation at schools and farms, and proposed expensive fixed charges that hurt energy savings and local solar power. Now they are undermining California’s nascent progress in battery storage with severe workforce constraints. This must stop if we want to move forward as a state, keep energy prices low and prevent future power outages.”
News item from CALSSA
