Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner in the House! (On the Roof!)

Welcome, solar enthusiast.

How exciting, what a week!  Boots is getting political! (Not that we weren’t before, effecting change in America invariably involves political action, but now we’re getting visibility!)

This Friday at 3pm, Boots on the Roof is hosting Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner of the 14^th District of California.  In guessing your first question, the 14^th District includes Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Kensington, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo and parts of Oakland and El Sobrante (everything is East of the downtown San Francisco area, just over the Bay Bridge). 

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner rules! and I’m going to tell you why because it’s important to highlight huge, gamechanging achievement.  Way back in 1988, Assemblywoman Skinner introduced the first bill in the nation that mentioned a ban on the use of Styrofoam.  (Because it’ll never biodegrade? Ever!)  I’m hearing the gasps of surprise when you realize that it was someone from Berkeley who sponsored the first Styrofoam ban- but hey, it had to happen. Second, she’s a small business owner and understands what it takes to startup in a new industry scenario.  When she walks into our class on Friday and addresses our general contractors and electricians who are all hoping to make it big in the solar industry as new solar contractors, when she looks at them in the eye and says she gets it, it’s because she does.  After that, she’s the author of the book 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth.  Score one for environmental businesswoman greatness!

Now let’s talk politics.  As a freshman legislator, Assemblywoman Skinner was appointed Chair of the natural Resources Committee, which holds jurisdiction over issues such as waste management, water and air quality, other environmental issues but most importantly for this discussion, energy development.  As far as energy development goes, she’s been vocal in helping to maintain steady growth for the solar industry which is why we’re so thrilled to host her in front of our solar business developers because her success will directly impact the futures of our students.  

Until the 7^th of July, the net-metering regulations in California permitted for 2.5% of all energy to be purchased by utilities from independent producers.  We’re getting close to fulfilling the 2.5% of energy cap.  Reaching the cap would basically end future solar developments in California because there’d be no incentive for new people to go solar if you couldn’t sell excess power back to the utility!  Why cap? Assemblywoman Skinner proposed to raise the cap percentage to 10% of energy.  On Tuesday of this week, the cap was raised to a middle ground of 5%.  Although just a token, it passed through the assembly and is gaining ground.  By raising the cap, growth is still possible in the solar industry and we will continue to move forward until we need to raise the cap again.  And my bets are that Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner will be on top of that future legislation way before it becomes necessary, so we’re almost covered for now.

If you’d like to pass by and see the event, call 510 743 2789 and I’ll get you on the list!

Here are some other articles on Net-Metering for your reference just in case some of that didn’t connect the first time (haha):

Protecting Net Metering: The Civil Rights Movement for Solar Energy:  Written by David Hochschild, VP of Solaria (our neighbor solar company) and co-founder of Vote Solar (lobby group for solar energy) — http://tinyurl.com/cnvlem -this article was written in April before the cap was raised, it’ll underscore why raising the cap is a good idea

Here is the Vote Solar press release about the raising of the net-metering cap in California: http://www.votesolar.org/560_EUCvote.html

SFGate article about Net-Metering you might find interesting: http://tinyurl.com/ljggyo

Related posts:

1. CA Net Metering Increase Bill finally Gets Approved There has been a lot of talk and effort to increase CA net metering to give more credit to homeowners that have the systems installed and who are producing excess power. The State Assembly overwhelmingly passed the bill last Thursday, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, and has...
2. Boots on the Roof Alumni Succeed in the Solar World! The opportunities in solar energy are there.  We’re proud to say that Boots on the Roof Alumni are making an impact and becoming successful in their new roles.  After taking classes and learning  to install, design and sell solar energy to homeowners and business, our alumni go out into the country...
3. Need Help Weatherizing Your House? Government to the rescue!   The Department of Energy would appreciate it if Americans did their part to weatherize our houses, lessen our energy needs and our carbon footprint in the easiest way possible.   (Woah! It’s amazing that I can even write that!) Check out the Weatherization Assistance...
4. CA Edison makes use of warehouse roof for solar! A common feature of many industrialized areas is the virtual sea of warehouses and of course, the large flat barren roofs of these buildings. CA Edison has taken some proactive effort to make use of this wasted surface area that makes up a significant proportion of warehouses of more...
5. Solar Energy in Space I wasn’t sure that solar could get more interesting than it is already but – Solar in Space? This is too good to be true.  My Star Trek watching grandmother is even excited.  The stunningly visionary company in the state of California, Solaren, is considering sending solar panels into space so...

Tagged as: 14th district, ab 560, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, green job growth, green jobs, net-metering, solar industry growth, solar jobs, solar politics