Low income advocates ask legislature to preserve retail net metering

Low income advocates sent a letter to the conference committee negotiating solar legislation earlier this week asking that retail net metering be maintained for projects serving low income communities. Boston Community Capital, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Worcester Green Low-Income Housing Coalition and others stated that cutting net metering credits for low income projects while retaining retail net metering for residential solar would "not only limit access to solar for low income people, but needlessly exacerbate the divide between those who can afford to go solar and those who cannot."  

The letter also noted that many low income individuals in Massachusetts are renters and live in urban areas and do not own their own sunny rooftop.  That means off-site shared solar projects are the only way for these individuals to directly access the benefits of solar through, for example, the purchase of net metering credits.  Slashing net metering credit values for these types of projects will make it much harder for developers to build them and low income indviduals, affordable housing and organizations serving low income people to use solar to lower their electricity costs.

Read the full letter here.