MEDIA RELEASE
Dec 8, 2020 | For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Lisa Young, Chapter Director, Idaho Sierra Club, (208) 841-8587, lisa.young@sierraclub.org
Adam Young, farmer in Blackfoot
Joey Richardson, Project Engineer, Gietzen Solar
PUC Approves Idaho Power Proposal to Weaken Solar Program for Idaho Farmers
Idaho farmers see solar as a smart investment, PUC decision introduces more uncertainty
BOISE, ID—Last week, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved most of Idaho Power’s proposal to modify its customer-owned solar compensation program for farmers. Nearly 100 public comments were submitted. Farmers and the PUC’s own staff urged the PUC to delay the effective date that differentiates current and future program users until after Idaho Power reveals deeper changes to its program, expected in the next few years. Instead, the PUC agreed to Idaho Power’s proposed effective date of December 1, 2020.
Now, any farmer who invests in a solar energy system will be subject to potentially drastic changes that Idaho Power intends to make to its solar compensation program in the coming years, as utilities are attempting across the nation. This program provides credits to customers for the excess energy their solar panels provide back to the grid. Without knowing what those compensation changes will be, Idaho farmers are now faced with an increasingly risky investment choice when looking to solar to help offset their power costs.
“Idaho farmers have the right to self-generate some or all of their energy needs. Without a fair and assessable customer-solar program, they’re left with little choice but to purchase all of their energy from Idaho Power and remain exposed to future rate increases,” said Lisa Young, Chapter Director of the Idaho Sierra Club. “This not only threatens their own resilience, but that of Idaho’s agricultural-based economy.”
Solar adoption by Idaho farmers has grown rapidly over the past few years. Idaho farmers see solar as a smart economic investment to help stabilize the high energy costs on their farm. As some farmers shared during the public hearing, it’s also something that they can pass on to their kids, has a positive environmental impact, and can serve the utility’s system as a whole.
“As a farmer in southeast Idaho, every opportunity to manage my production costs is extremely valuable,” said Adam Young, a farmer in Blackfoot. “Solar generation has helped our family to reduce the farm’s costs and to alleviate load on the grid during peak irrigation hours, and we look forward to continued, unfettered access to this important tool going forward.”
Thanks to Mr. Young’s advocacy and that of countless others, the PUC granted legacy status for 25 years to farmers who installed their systems prior to December 1, sparing them from Idaho Power’s upcoming compensation changes. But he worries about fellow farmers who now face a bigger uphill climb to invest in and enjoy the many benefits of solar on their farm.
"As a family-owned solar company servicing southern-Idaho, irrigators are some of our biggest customers. Almost all of the irrigators we talk with see the long-term benefits that solar can bring to their operations," said Joey Richardson, Project Engineer at Gietzen Solar. "For some of these multimillion dollar solar projects, we worry that the business owners and their financiers can no longer justify moving forward when the value of their exported energy is up in the air.”
Solar companies like Richardson’s employ hundreds of workers across Idaho. With an expected reduction in solar projects may come a loss of jobs and opportunities for that industry to grow, particularly in Idaho’s rural communities.
Farmers and solar installers will continue to face heightened uncertainty in new solar investments until Idaho Power reveals its new solar compensation program. It’s expected to begin that development next year, starting with a comprehensive study on the financial value of excess customer-produced solar energy. Advocates say they will be actively engaging to ensure that the full value of solar energy is measured—including economic, environmental, public health, and utility system benefits—and that any new program fairly compensates solar owners for the power they provide back to the grid.
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A huge thanks to the nearly 100 people who submitted comments on this case in the fall, showing the PUC that Idaho farmers, residents, and businesses care about this issue. The fight for customer-owned solar in Idaho is not over, and in fact faces perhaps its most important phase in the months ahead with Idaho Power’s long-awaited “value of solar” study. We will need everyone’s voices to speak up for solar this year! Please stay tuned and stay engaged.
The Idaho Sierra Club is a member-supported non-profit organization working to promote the conservation of Idaho’s natural environment and climate by influencing public policy decisions through grassroots involvement, as a chapter of America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.