By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Solar energy proponent Joe DeMare’s presence at city meetings has become nearly as constant as the sun rising every morning.
Monday evening, he was back at the Bowling Green Board of Public Utilities meeting, demanding that the board revisit its rooftop solar policy. While the utilities board may not have been trying to disincentivize residential rooftop solar, the pricing policy adopted last fall will have that effect, DeMare said.
DeMare referred to the “misguided policy” and asked, “What will the board do to rectify this decision?” He mentioned Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish environmental activist, who pointed out many world leaders “saying the right thing, but doing the wrong thing.”
DeMare insisted that the public utilities board vote to revisit the policy.
The board stopped short of making a commitment, but assured DeMare that they were interested in the subject.
“We’re listening to what you have to say,” board President Megan Newlove said. She said the board does not want to discourage rooftop solar systems in the city. But she also explained that the board has to look out for all utility customers.
After the meeting, Director of Public Utilities Brian O’Connell said he would revisit the residential rooftop solar policy if the board or mayor asked him to do so. “They are my bosses,” he said.
“Our point is to try to be fair to all customers,” O’Connell said.
In February, DeMare told City Council of his objections to the city’s policies of increasing fees for homeowners who install rooftop solar panels and reducing the amount the city pays for the extra power generated by these installations.
O’Connell has said the fees are necessary to make sure other electric customers in the city aren’t subsidizing those who choose to install rooftop solar panels.
The new fees will go into effect in July, and will start out charging $1 a month per kilowatt capacity. That will be $6 per month for a system like DeMare’s which produces six kilowatts.
The fee will increase $1 annually, until it reaches the ceiling of $4 per kilowatt capacity – or $24 a month for DeMare.
Board member Andy Wagner explained that the pricing policy adopted last fall was the first effort to address rooftop solar in the city.
“We’re going from a complete absence of any program to installing something,” Wagner said, adding that it can be improved as it moves forward.
Another rooftop solar user, Leatra Harper, told the board of public utilities that she was shocked to find out about the new rates.
“It is a penalty,” she said of the policy. And it will discourage future residential rooftop solar in the city, she added.
“It sends a very wrong message,” Harper said.
Board member Trevor Jessee agreed that rooftop solar installations benefit Bowling Green. “They are adding a value to our city,” he said.
Jessee talked about the city’s low energy prices which help attract larger industries, and the city’s proven record of supporting green energy.
“We are leagues away from our competitors, or towns around us,” he said.
O’Connell has stressed that Bowling Green is committed to solar energy – evidenced by the largest municipal-owned solar field in the state, located east of the city.
“We are not against renewable energy,” he said. “But there’s also a financial obligation to make sure the system is kept whole.”
