June 3, 2021 Tim Sylvia

In a fairly unprecedented move, Green Cove Springs, a town in Florida has passed an ordinance to halve the net metering rate that solar customers receive.

In the vast majority of net metering cases, any changes to compensation are made at the state level, with cities, especially cities with a population under 10,000 like Green Cove Springs, seldom taking the responsibility into their own hands.

As it stands, the ordinance lowers customers’ net metering export credit from the current rate of eight cents per kWh to four cents per kWh. Local solar advocates have denounced the ordinance, saying that lowering the credit will throw current customer payback calculations into disarray and will dissuade others from investing in solar down the line.

According to local press, a representative for Florida Municipal Power Agency addressed these arguments by sharing the opinion that solar incentives, at the local, state, and national level, should be removed altogether.

The representative backed this claim by citing the amount of land required for projects, waste and emissions related to mining, and concerns over decommissioning procedure as aspects of solar that citizens have to “turn a blind eye to,” despite the first and third points not applying to rooftop solar.

As it stands now, the ordinance only applies to Green Cove Springs, though there are concerns among local renewable energy advocates that the decision could create a domino effect where other neighboring towns follow suit by stripping away their incentives.