Support Rooftop Solar By Participating in this Study

Participate in a survey that can help determine future rates, and the future of the solar industry in Utah.

We love clean energy! And rooftop solar is no exception.

Also known as “distributed solar”, this is the on-site solar energy that powers businesses and homes with panels installed on rooftops or mounted on the ground. Regardless of the location or size of array, distributed solar is an important step towards a clean energy grid.

These on-site arrays not only save money, they help reduce air pollution and carbon emissions.

Now, home and business owners with rooftop solar have the opportunity to show just how important their solar is. The Utah Public Service Commission is set to evaluate the credit residential solar customers receive for the energy exported to the grid. To help demonstrate the impact of clean solar power to our communities, the organization Vote Solar is conducting a study of rooftop solar in Utah.

If you have rooftop solar, you may have recently received a letter from Rocky Mountain Power about this topic. The letter references signing up to participate in the study. What this entails is allowing your solar array details and usage data to be shared with the non-profit Vote Solar— not with Rocky Mountain Power.

The study will analyze the benefit that rooftop solar provides to the overall grid. Sign up here.

This has been a contentious topic for several years, and was a key issue in a rates compromise brokered two years ago. (Read more on the SLCgreen blog and in the Salt Lake Tribune).

The data from this survey– and the next phase in the ratemaking– could have significant impacts on the future of the solar industry in Utah. That’s something we all should care about!

Utah Solar Power

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Utah ranks 10th in the nation for installed solar capacity. As of 2018, there are 323,532 homes powered by solar across the state, and 6 percent of the State’s electricity comes from solar. And the industry is showing no signs of slowing down.

The need to continue investing in clean renewable resources is critical and benefits our environment, economy, and public health. The average 5 kilowatt solar installation helps home owners and businesses save 50 percent on their energy bills (resulting in $700 savings per year) and prevents 12,159 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

As solar installations become more accessible, more clean energy is able to enter our electrical grid system. In Salt Lake City, residential Rocky Mountain Power customers receive credits for the kilowatt-hours of solar energy that are added to the grid.

A fair evaluation is critical to determining future rates for rooftop solar owners. Among other impacts, the rate structure could have ripple effects on the solar industry in Utah and the 6,000 solar jobs it supports. So if you have rooftop solar, we encourage you to consider signing up to join the study.

Read more from Utah Clean Energy.

Sign up to participate in the study

To sign up, visit: https://csapps.rockymountainpower.net/public/vote-solar

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions at slcgreen[at]slcgov.com We’re happy to chat or point you in the direction of further resources.

Thanks for supporting solar energy!