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Solar and battery manufacturers, as well as nonprofit organizations, introduced a bill that claims the net metering policy was legally enacted and is crucial to Puerto Ricans ability to keep the lights on.
A coalition of 28 organizations, including leading U.S. and Puerto Rican nonprofits and solar and battery companies, filed a brief in federal court opposing a change to Puerto Rico’s net metering policy.
Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) has launched a legal attack against Act 10, a law that extends Puerto Rico’s net metering program through 2030. The coalition argues in its amicus brief that the policy was legally enacted and that, if changed, would threaten the island’s progress on solar energy and resilience.
Puerto Rico has increased its renewable generation to 12% from 4% three years ago, said PJ Wilson, president of the Puerto Rico Solar and Energy Storage Association (SESA-PR), and could reach 18% to 20% next year, compared with the 40% target set by Puerto Rico law. According to Chris Collins, founder of Ohm Analytics, the territory will account for 10% of the entire U.S. residential solar market by 2028.
Central to Puerto Rico’s future success with residential solar is the net metering law, Act 10-2024 , which extended the territory’s net metering policy for solar through 2031. Act 10, enacted in January, was unanimously approved by Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives and Senate and was unopposed by the island’s regulator. The coalition maintains that the law was enacted legally.
Net metering, originally created by law in Puerto Rico in 2007, has been a lifeline for communities affected by years of rolling blackouts.
“Ten percent of homes in Puerto Rico now have solar power with battery backup thanks to the net metering policy,” explained PJ Wilson, executive director of the Puerto Rico Solar and Energy Storage Association (SESA). “We are fighting to make it possible for the other 90 percent to do so as well.”
The FOMB said in a letter that the fiscal plan it certified for PREPA requires the Puerto Rico Energy Office to determine whether to make changes to the net metering system. Because the Energy Office has not yet done so, the FOMB said Act 10 is “directly at odds” with PREPA’s fiscal plan. The FOMB included with the letter its resolution ordering Puerto Rico’s legislature and governor to repeal Act 10 or amend it “in a manner consistent with the fiscal plans.”
The brief filed by the coalition supports the defensive positions taken before the court by the defendant, Governor Pierluisi, and by the president of the Senate of Puerto Rico. It explains that the FOMBs opposition to solar energy ignores the unanimous votes in favor of Law 10 in the five political parties of the Puerto Rican legislature.
In a May 2024 letter from 21 members of the U.S. Congress urging the FOMB to abandon its damaging attack on solar energy. A coalition of national and Puerto Rican nonprofits has also asked the White House for help.
“Net metering is more than a policy; it is a path to hope for Puerto Ricans facing frequent outages and high energy costs,” said Javier Rúa Jovet, director of public policy at SESA. “This coalition stands to defend net metering because Puerto Rico deserves a reliable and clean energy future that the FOMB’s actions seek to undermine.”
Abigail Ross-Hopper, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), one of the signatories of the Amicus brief, stated that “smart policies like net metering really anchor the broad adoption of solar energy, and in Puerto Rico, that translates into reliable and resilient energy.”
“The recent challenge to net metering in Puerto Rico is problematic because it simply makes it harder for residents to produce their own energy and save money on their monthly bills. As Puerto Rico works toward its goal of reaching 100% renewable energy, while building a resilient and reliable energy system, it is critical that we fight to protect net metering on the island,” Hopper said.
The Amicus report was signed by the following organizations: Acadia Center, Astrawatt Solar, Bright Ops, Bright Panel, Carpe Diem Developers PR, EarthSpark International, EDPR NR DG, Elders Climate Action, Enphase Energy Inc, FranklinWH, Freedom Forever, GRID Alternatives, IREC, Mechanical Contractors Association of PR, Para la Naturaleza, Power Solar, Pytes, SMA, Sol-Ark, Solar and Energy Storage Association (SESA), Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), SolarEdge Technologies Inc, Sunnova, and Teksol Integration Group, Inc. |
