Georgia passes solar-friendly legislation

Solar electric power would become far more accessible to Georgia homeowners under a bill approved by state lawmakers on Friday, making it easier to lease solar equipment and then sell the power generated back to electric companies. Georgia lawmakers loosened up rules that had been designed to prevent neighbourhoods from competing with major utilities, joining about 20 other states with similar programs to encourage the use of solar power.
"This changes everything," said Julie Hairston, spokeswoman for the non-profit Georgia Solar Energy Association. "It will create jobs, promote clean energy and investment across the state."
While solar power was not banned before, Georgia residents could not lease solar equipment from a company that sold the power back to the electric utility.
That left residents on the hook for some $30,000 in upfront costs for solar equipment, according to T. Scott Earp, president of Southern View Energy, a Georgia solar energy company.
The bill that unanimously passed the Georgia Senate on Friday, after previously passing the House, struck a compromise.
Homeowners producing sun-generated electricity can sell it back on the electric grid, using the money to pay for the equipment over a period of 10 or 20 years, said Earp.
"Once it's paid for, your electric bills can go to zero," Earp said. "You might make some money back."
The legislation set limits on how much electricity each home could generate, and specified that the electricity is for the homeowners' personal use, said John Kraft, a spokesman for Georgia Power.
The restrictions helped to overcome objections that had doomed similar legislation in the past.
Kraft said Georgia Power's had been concerned that unrestricted home solar power panels could drive up the costs of electricity for those without solar energy.
If solar generating homeowners put too much of their excess electricity on the grid, traditional electric customers would bear more costs for maintaining the whole electric system. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, a Republican, is expected to sign the legislation.