UPDATE: Last fall, we reported in this blog post about the Nevada solar industry getting a "stay of execution" thanks to a vote by the state Public Utilities Commission to maintain the status quo for new net-metering customers through the end of 2015.
The Sierra Club regrets to announce that shortly before the holidays, the Nevada PUC carried out the execution of Nevada’s rooftop solar industry that had been temporarily suspended last August. The PUC unanimously approved a decision to dramatically increase monthly bills for net-metering customers and to slash credits for solar generation.
The announced changes have already had a devastating impact on the industry. Solar City and Sunrun, the two largest rooftop solar leasing companies, announced they are withdrawing from Nevada. Solar City directly laid off 550 people, and hundreds more people in small, independent solar-installation businesses and support services are likely to lose their jobs. To make matters worse, in a move that not even NV Energy had requested, the PUC’s decision applies retroactively to customers who have already invested in rooftop panels, punishing forward-looking customers who made the decision to support clean, local energy.