Nancy LaPlaca presents an overview of solar energy, including its evolution, regulatory challenges, and the distinction between various solar types, emphasizing the need for grid access and financing. Key concepts discussed include renewable portfolio standards, net metering, and the impact of solar on electricity costs and energy efficiency. LaPlaca highlights North Carolina's significant solar capacity growth and the challenges posed by utilities in adopting solar technologies.

1. Nancy LaPlaca, J.D.
LaPlaca & Associates LLC
Laplaca.nancy@gmail.com
480-359-8442

2. Nancy LaPlaca, Who Am I?
• ASU: Bachelor Fine Arts, J.D., College
of Law
• 3.5 years: Policy Advisor, AZ
Corporation Comm’r Paul Newman
• Staff co-chair for the Environment Cmte
at the Nat’l Ass’n Regulatory Comm’rs
• 3 years as public interest intervener at
Colorado Public Utilities Commission
• 5 years Congressional staff for AZ
Representatives Morris K. Udall and
Karan English
• 3 years as Senior Energy Analyst for
NC WARN www.ncwarn.org

3. Goals of Presentation
• Basic terms and concepts
• Helpful websites
• Provide and explain evolution of solar around the U.S.,
with examples
• Basics of regulatory fights around the U.S.
– Adding ‘demand’ charges
– Increasing fixed charges
– “Value of solar” determinations
– Externalities
– Time frame used for solar v conventional power
plants
– Is solar subsidized?

4. Background: Energy, Electricity
and “Net” Energy
• Energy: transportation (oil) v. Electricity: coal, natural
gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydropower
– Currently not much overlap, but will change as we
“electrify” transportation with light rail, electric cars, etc.
• Net Energy = the energy left after using energy to drill,
mine, transport, compress, combust, build, etc.; also
called E-ROI (Energy Return on Investment)
• Energy costs are going to rise: invest in renewables,
with higher capital costs, or fossil fuels, with increasing
costs and high Operation and Maintenance?
• “Externalities” global warming, water scarcity; also
enormous health effects from fossil fuels.
• Environmental justice issues: local, U.S., global

5. What Does Solar Need to
Thrive?
1. Access to the grid
2. Access to financing
How are utilities blocking?
• Lack of ‘third party’ markets, especially in the
Southeast, only incumbent utility can sell electricity
• Don’t allow ‘community-owned’ community solar or
‘aggregated or virtual net metering
• Barriers to PACE
• Non-transparent, unfair processes at PUCs/PSCs:
don’t consider or even allow evidence of the real costs
and benefits of both dirty and clean energy

6. Definitions
• Rooftop, Distributed, Commercial, Utility, Wholesale
Solar
• Renewable Portfolio Standards
• Net Energy Metering (NEM)
• Avoided Cost v Retail Rate
• SRECs: Solar Renewable Energy Credits
• Grid Parity
• How Rate Design Affects Solar, i.e. Time of Use Rates
• KEY CONCEPT: When a utility owns solar, it can make
a ~10% Rate of Return; fuel and purchased power are
‘pass-through’ costs that the utility does not profit from.

7. Solar: Rooftop, Distributed,
Commercial, Wholesale, Utility
• Rooftop generally means home-sized or small business
(4kW to 50kW)
• Distributed generally means locally-sited v larger-scale,
further from load.
• Commercial scale generally means mid-size (20kw) up
to 1MW (Wal-Mart sized).
• Wholesale means that Duke is paying only the avoided
cost rate (5-7 cents/kWh) v retail rate (11 cents/kWh).
• Utility-scale means either (1) solar is OWNED by the
utility, or (2) utility purchases solar from developer.

9. Definition: Renewable Portfolio
Standards
• In 29 states, plus D.C.
• Require utilities to get X% of electricity from “clean”
sources by X year.
– In NC, it’s 12.5% by 2021
– What is “clean”? Nuclear?
• Each RPS is unique, see www.dsireusa.org
• Questions:
– How to pay for RPS?
– Ensure that low-income ratepayers aren’t hurt
– Some RPS’ have caps on bill increases (CO)
– Some states adjust budget every year (AZ)
• Distributed generation budget cut from $40M to $3M.

10. Renewable Portfolio Standard
Policieswww.dsireusa.org / August 2016
WA: 15% x 2020*
OR: 50%x
2040*
(large utilities)
CA: 50%
x 2030
MT: 15% x
2015
NV: 25% x
2025* UT: 20% x
2025*†
AZ: 15% x
2025*
ND: 10% x 2015
NM: 20%x 2020
(IOUs)
HI: 100% x 2045
CO: 30% x 2020
(IOUs) *†
OK: 15% x
2015
MN:26.5%
x 2025 (IOUs)
31.5% x 2020 (Xcel)
MI: 10% x
2015*†WI: 10%
2015
MO:15% x
2021
IA: 105 MW IN:
10% x
2025†
IL: 25%
x 2026
OH: 12.5%
x 2026
NC: 12.5% x 2021
(IOUs)
VA: 15%
x 2025†
KS: 20% x 2020
ME: 40% x 2017
29 States +
Washington DC + 3
territories have a
Renewable Portfolio
Standard
(8 states and 1 territories
have renewable portfolio
goals)
Renewable portfolio standard
Renewable portfolio goal Includes non-renewable alternative resources* Extra credit for solar or customer-sited renewables
†
U.S.
Territories
DC
TX: 5,880 MW x 2015*
SD: 10% x 2015
SC: 2% 2021
NMI: 20% x 2016
PR: 20% x 2035
Guam: 25% x
2035
USVI: 30% x 2025
NH: 24.8%x
2025VT: 75% x 2032
MA: 15% x 2020(new
resources)
6.03% x 2016 (existing resources)
RI: 38.5% x
2035CT: 27% x
2020
NY:50% x 2030
PA: 18% x
2021†
NJ: 20.38% RE x 2020
+ 4.1% solar by 2027
DE: 25% x
2026*MD: 20% x 2022
DC: 20% x 2020

11. Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (and
Goals)
www.dsireusa.org / October 2016
20 States
Have Mandatory
Statewide Energy
Efficiency Resource
Standards
(7 States Have
Goals)
States with an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard
No State Standard or Goal
U.S.
Territories
D
C
States with an Energy Efficiency Resource Goal
Guam USVIPR NM
I

14. Net Metering: Like Cell Phone
Rollover Minutes

15. Net Metering
State-developed mandatory rules for certain utilities (41 states + DC+ 3 territories)
No statewide mandatory rules, but some utilities allow net metering (2 states)
www.dsireusa.org / July 2016
KEY
U.S. Territories:
41 States + DC,
AS, USVI, & PR
have mandatory net
metering rules
DC
Statewide distributed generation compensation rules other than net metering (4 states + 1 territory)
GU
AS PR
VI

16. Net Metering: Big Picture
• Empowers customers
• Encourages energy awareness and action
• Long run: residential and small biz are
more expensive than larger-scale
(economies of scale)
• Storage, batteries and micro-grids will help
distributed generation compete
• Utilities don’t like because it cuts profits,
provides clean energy/competition.

17. 3rd
Party Solar PV Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA)
www.dsireusa.org / July 2016
At Least 26 States
+ Washington DC and
Puerto Rico Authorize or
Allow 3rd
Party Power
Purchase Agreements for
Solar PV
Apparently disallowed by state or otherwise restricted by legal barriers
Status unclear or unknown
U.S.
Territories
D
C
VA: Limited within a certain
utility's service territory
CO: With system
size limitations
TX: With system
size limitations
NV: With system
size limitations
AZ: Limited to
certain sectors
Authorized by state or otherwise currently in use, at least in certain jurisdictions
Guam USVIPR NM
I
LA, MS, SC: Solar leases
explicitly allowed

18. More Customers Buying Solar,
But 3rd
Party Financing Popular

19. What is “Grid Parity”?
• Grid parity is the
crossover point where
solar becomes equal to
the cost of conventional
generation.
• Battle of the Experts,
because it all depends
on assumptions!
• Need to look at life-
cycle costs and
realistic increases in
fuel costs.

21. What Does Electricity “Cost”, and
Why Is It So Hard to Determine?
• Power plants run different numbers of
hours/year (8,760 hrs)
– Nuclear: runs 93% of total hrs/yr
– Coal: ~85%
– Solar: 20-25% (sometimes 30%, AZ)
• Other issues: O&M, water use, pollution, waste
removal, labor.
• Many costs not ‘counted’, i.e. pollution, carbon,
fuel risk.
• Value of solar not counted: no pollution, no fuel
risk, delivers electricity at high value times.

22. Why Do the Costs of Electricity
Vary So Much?
• Different “capacity factor” for each type
of plant: solar generates electricity during
the day, natural gas has high and volatile
fuel costs, coal compliance costs are
increasing.
• How much are fuel costs increasing/yr?
• How much will nuclear decommissioning?
• How much will the cost of solar, wind and
other clean energy solutions decrease?
• What about water supplies?

23. SRECs: Say What?!
Source: http://www.srectrade.com/srec_markets/introduction
SRECs are Solar
Renewable Energy
Credits, which help to
fund solar energy until it
reaches “grid parity”, i.e.
costs the same as
conventional electricity.
The SREC market exists
in the Northeast and
Midwest, rapidly
changing.

24. Current SREC prices range from $41
(DE, OH) to $480/REC (D.C.)

25. Clean Energy Impact on NC
Ratepayer Bills
• $0.41 per month (flat fee) for compliance with
the North Carolina Renewable Efficiency
Portfolio Standard (REPS)
• $2.74 per month (average) paid to commercial
solar producers selling to Duke
• $3.84 per month (average) for energy
efficiency
• But…
• ~$22-38/month for fossil fuel purchases.
Source:
http://assets.bizjournals.com/charlotte/pdf/Electricity%20Rate%20Impact%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

28. 8
APS’ RW Beck Study on the Value
Of Distributed Energy
Operating Impacts and Valuation study
RW Beck
study says
the value of
distributed
solar is 7.9
to 14.11
cents/kWh
in avoided
costs for
fuel, trans-
mission,
line losses,
etc.

29. Source: page 43, Minnesota Value of Solar, Methodology, Prepared for MN Dept. of Commerce, 1/31/14, Clean Power Research,
https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/EFiling/edockets/searchDocuments.do?method=showPoup&documentId={EE336D18-74C3-
4534-AC9F-0BA56F788EC4}&documentTitle=20141-96033-02

30. Source: Energy Darwinism, Citi GPS: Global Perspectives &
Solutions, October 2013
G
A
S
-
F
U
E
L
C
O
A
L
NUCLEAR FUEL
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$ = Financing Costs
Fuel Costs

31. Source:
http://www.businessinsider.com/north-ca

32. Clean Energy Costs Are Way,
Way Down
Land-based wind: (-41%)
Distributed PV: (-54%)
Utility-scale PV: (-64%)
Batteries: (-73%)

33. Utility-Scale Solar Capacity Up,
Cost Down

34. Wind Capacity Up, Cost Down

35. Distributed Solar Capacity Up,
Cost Down

36. Where Is Solar? Southeast is
Nearly Equal to Southwest !

37. Solar Under Development in
2016

38. From Duke’s Executives
Jim Rogers:
• utility monopolies are being ‘eroded.’ Industry is
like a ‘frog’ getting heated up in boiling water.
• Without large building projects, nothing to drive
earnings.
• Aging infrastructure with big costs.
• Greater pressure on grid from increased storms.
• Power demand is anemic or declining.
Source: Monopoly Utilities Doomed, by Martin Rosenberg, Energy Central,
January 20, 2014 http://www.energybiz.com/article/14/01/monopoly-utilities-doomed

39. What’s So Great About Solar?
Solar PV (not Concentrating Solar Power or CSP):
• Uses no water, produces no waste
• Very low maintenance and operation costs
• Very simple construction
• Saves money on pollution costs, nuclear waste
costs, coal ash, coal waste, acid rain, and FUEL!
• North Carolina spends $1.6 BILLION/year on
imported coal (high was $2.36 BILLION/year)

43. Clean Energy
Leaders vs.
Greenwashing
Laggards
Source: Benchmarking
Utility Clean Energy
Deployment, Ceres, June
2016

44. North Carolina: 3rd
in U.S. for
Total Installed Solar!
• North Carolina: 213 solar companies,5,950 employees
• 2015: $1.689 billion invested in solar
• NC’s current total installed solar: ~2,300 MW, ranks
the state third in the country in installed solar capacity;
enough to power 245,000 homes.
• Installed solar PV system prices in the U.S. have
dropped steadily- by 12% from last year and 66% from
2010
• However, 93% of NC’s solar is due to federal law,
PURPA, which DUK tried to kill at NCUC and NCGA
• Source: www.seia.org
44

45. U.S.: 31,000+ MW Total Installed
Solar PV, CSP (solar thermal
electric)
45

46. Cost of Solar Dropping FAST,
Including the Southeast
46

47. 47

48. Solar in U.S.: Higher Than in
Germany, Japan, France,
Australia
48

49. 49

51. Source: http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hydro-how-your-state-generates-power

54. Helpful Websites
• www.seia.org webpages for individual states
• www.greentechmedia.com - excellent reporting
• www.eia.gov webpages for each state; also for natural
gas, coal, electricity consumption
• www.dsire-usa.com
Thank you for your attention!
Nancy LaPlaca
nancy@ncwarn.org
480-359-8442