Vivint Solar Joins Utah Solar Power Compromise to preserve Utahns’ ability to choose rooftop solar in the future

Convened by Gov. Gary Herbert, a small group consisting of the rooftop solar industry, solar advocates, the Utah Division of Public Utilities, the Utah Office of Consumer Services, Rocky Mountain Power, and environmental stakeholders, agreed to a three-year process that will help determine the true value of rooftop solar and its long-term benefits to all ratepayers and Utah.

Looking into the possibility of a regulatory proceeding that could have harmed the solar industry and Utah rooftop solar customers, Vivint Solar has announced that it has joined industry leaders in agreeing to a compromise solution to protect existing solar customers and to preserve Utahns’ ability to choose rooftop solar in the future.

“Utahns are passionate about technological innovation, energy independence and environmental stewardship,” said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar. “The settlement clears up the uncertainty of the last nine months created by RMP, but as with any compromise, we didn’t get everything we want in this deal. We made many concessions that were painful and will hurt our industry, but the agreement allows us to move forward. We believe transparency and certainty in the regulatory process benefit all Utahns. This compromise was necessary in Utah to enable us to support Utah’s solar pioneers as we honor previous commitments and preserve consumer choice.”

Convened by Gov. Gary Herbert, a small group consisting of the rooftop solar industry, solar advocates, the Utah Division of Public Utilities, the Utah Office of Consumer Services, Rocky Mountain Power, and environmental stakeholders, agreed to a three-year process that will help determine the true value of rooftop solar and its long-term benefits to all ratepayers and Utah.

Under the settlement, existing rooftop solar customers will be grandfathered through the end of 2035. While the compromise is expected to slow job creation in Utah’s rooftop solar sector, new customers will be able to invest in rooftop solar without unwarranted increased charges. Additionally, through the end of 2033, they will receive nearly the retail rate for the clean energy they provide to the grid and that’s consumed by their neighbors.

With Rocky Mountain Power’s 2016 study and net metering proposal, the benefits of rooftop solar were significantly undervalued by narrowly looking at the value provided by solar in one year instead of a long-term view of solar over its 35-plus year useful life. The current compromise allows consumers, businesses and advocates challenging these erroneous value assumptions, the short-term narrow view, and collecting the necessary data to accurately determine the true value of rooftop solar. As this additional data is collected from a significant sample size and evaluated, solar industry leaders are confident it will show that the long-term benefits of rooftop solar outweigh its costs and there is no subsidy.