Testimony
of
Mark Rodeffer
Chair of the DC Sierra Club
before the
DC Council Committee on Transportation and Environment
Thank you, Chairperson Cheh, and members of the committee, for holding this hearing today.
I am here to testify in support of the Solar Cooperative Association Expansion Amendment Act and the Solar Ready Roofs and Sustainable Development Amendment Act, though I have suggested changes to each bill.
My name is Mark Rodeffer. I am the chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. We are the nation’s largest environmental advocacy organization. We have more than 3,000 active, dues-paying members here in the District of Columbia and more than 10,000 supporters in DC. Our members want to see local action on climate change, and that is why I am here before you today.
DC's Renewable Portfolio Standard requires 50 percent of our electricity come from clean sources by 2050, with 5 percent coming from solar. Right now, we are NOT on track to meet those requirements. If we are serious about taking on climate change and expanding renewable energy here in DC, we must take every opportunity to expand solar energy.
I live in River Park, a co-operative in Southwest DC that is only nine feet above sea level. For us, global warming and sea level rise is a real threat. Unfortunately, lawyers for our co-op have offered a legal opinion that townhouse residents are not allowed under our co-ops bylaws to put solar panels on their roofs because the bylaws prohibit residents from using their units in the co-op for financial profit. I believe this opinion is absurd, and that mitigating climate change does not profit any person alone, but benefits everyone on the planet. But our co-op board is extremely cautious when it comes to the possibility of any legal action, and as a result is prohibiting townhouse owners from installing solar on their roofs.
The Solar Cooperative Association Expansion Amendment Act would supersede onerous rules and questionable legal opinions that hinder DC's transition to renewable energy. This is a simple, no-brainer solution to this problem. Unfortunately, it's not just my co-op. Other homeowners associations prohibit solar. If we are serious about combating climate change and serious about the RPS requirements, we must remove every barrier to solar energy. That's why I ask the committee, and the full Council, to pass this legislation.
But there are a few loopholes in the bill big enough to build an oil pipeline through. The Sierra Club would like to see some specific changes to the language in the bill.
- Line 39: add "condo association" – in addition to homeowners associations and co-ops. We don't want to exclude any types of residences from the bill.
- Line 40: add "or member" – in addition to owner – the reason being that in co-ops, people do not technically own property, but instead own a share of the co-op and are considered members of the co-op.
- Lines 40 and 41: add "roof or elsewhere on that owner or member's property or residential unit." The legislation currently states only "property" and we want to specify roofs – where nearly all solar panels are installed – and add "residential unit" in addition to "property," because, again, co-op members do not actually own property.
- Lines 43 through 49 – Section 3 (b): This section should be eliminated entirely. This is the most important change we need to make if the bill is to have any effect whatsoever. The section is a loophole that essentially negates the rest of the bill. It exempts common areas, which could be construed to include any roof. It also allows "reasonable restrictions" on solar panels, but with no definition of the term reasonable, any restriction could be deemed "reasonable."
I have included with my written testimony a hard copy of the bill marked up with the Sierra Club's suggested changes. For this bill to have any teeth, we must eliminate Section 3 (b). It is a giant loophole that renders the rest of the bill ineffective. I understand I've offered some very specific changes, and I am happy to answer any questions.
Before I conclude my testimony, I also want to offer support for the Solar Ready Roofs and Sustainable Development Amendment Act. It's another tool that would allow DC to meet the requirements of our RPS and the solar carveout.
We applaud the requirement that commercial and larger residential buildings generate at least 10 percent of their energy on-site from renewable sources. Some buildings, for various reasons, will not be able to meet that requirement. In those cases, the bill should require these buildings participate in community solar projects to ensure that 10 percent of their electricity comes from renewable sources. On the other hand, some buildings that use little electricity (such as parking garages), could likely host 1000 percent of their load. For those buildings, we may want to mandate that a certain percentage of usable roof space be required to have solar beyond the 10 percent requirement in the bill. The renewable energy generated beyond the building's needs could be used for community solar programs and/or Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
We also support the requirement that buildings of four or fewer residential units be required to have solar-ready zones and roofs otherwise able to support solar. This will lay the groundwork for more solar energy, lower utility bills, and it will bring us closer to meeting RPS requirements.
Thank you for hearing my testimony today and for considering these two important bills that will expand renewable energy in DC and bring us closer to upholding our commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement in the face of failed leadership just a few blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue.