The Gainesville Regional Utility Authority Board voted to confirm a change in solar policy in a meeting Wednesday evening. The decision comes after debates surrounding the practice of net metering, the current method of billing for solar power in Gainesville.
Net metering, the current solar policy in Gainesville, is a process in which customers are charged for the amount of energy they use from GRU’s solar grid, and credited for how much excess solar energy they leave with the grid.
GRU’s electric meter measures how much energy is provided by the grid and how much excess solar energy is pushed to the grid. Customers are billed on the net of these two (grid-provided energy-excess production).
The vote comes during a period of transition at GRU, as the members of the authority board recently resigned after just six months of service following a judge’s ruling that the board members aren’t qualified to serve on the board because they live outside the city limits.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed all four members of the board, but a lawsuit filed by Gainesville Residents United alleged that he had no authority to appoint the members.
Workers in the solar industry as well as members of the community came to the meeting to voice their opinions. All who spoke advocated for the vote to be postponed or to keep net metering in place in the community given the current legal situation the board finds itself in.
The decision was met with most audience members leaving abruptly following the vote. As outraged members left the meeting, one attendee repeatedly shouted “travesty,” echoing the feelings of many in attendance.
GRU’s Interim Planning Director Jaime Verschage presented arguments as to why the current net-metering plan is outdated, proposing to bill grid energy at retail rates instead.
Heaven Campbell, the Florida Program Director of Solar United Neighbors, spoke before the board to voice her opinions on changing the renewable generation policy. Solar United Neighbors is a non-profit organization that helps members stay informed on the benefits of solar energy, assisting in the installation process as well.
Campbell said “1.4% of your customers are causing cost-shift,” referring to claims that solar costs to GRU make little economic sense to continue net metering. “We need to see math, we need to see your work because that is not mathematically possible.”
“If you do adopt this resolution really what's going to happen, nobody's going to install solar. To your point, I doubt you ever will (install solar) because it just doesn't make economic sense. The only reason it makes any sense at all is because we get that dollar-for-dollar net metering,” one audience member said. “We’re gonna lose jobs, we're going to put the solar companies out of business. It’s bad for the climate, it’s bad for the community, it’s bad for the environment.”
Audience members who wished to speak also referenced the allotted time they had to do so, which is usually three minutes. But that was shortened to just one minute per person because of the number of speakers.
One word audience members used to describe this system: egregious.
After members of the audience voiced their opinions, committee chair Craig Carter explained why the authority board believed changing the system would be the best option.
“We’ve got expenses. We have linemen, we have trucks, we have insurance, we have retirements, we have executive staff, we have employees,” Carter said. “We have to pay for that. The more people that come on to solar the less opportunity we have to pay for that.”
Carter’s statements were met with audience criticism, with many saying they believe a board whose imminent retirement on May 16 should be cause for a stay in the vote, given the serious legal ramifications that follow such a decision. His comments led to multiple outbursts from the crowd, which he repeatedly had to ask to quiet down.
“I was quiet when you had the opportunity to speak,” Carter said. “Now it’s my turn.”
One audience member's response: “Do you get a minute, too?”
Watch above: Audience members leave following the Authority Board's decision to amend their current solar policy in Gainesville. (Timothy Ayala/WUFT News)