The Center for Biological Diversity has included Alabama among a list of 10 states that have significant rooftop solar power potential, but a policy landscape that prevents people from taking advantage of it.
The Center's report, titled "Throwing Shade: 10 Sunny States Blocking Distributed Solar Development," cited Alabama as having the 19th best solar potential in the country, yet just the 45th highest total of installed solar capacity. Alabama was tied with Oklahoma (18th in solar potential and 44th in capacity) for the largest discrepancy between those two figures.
"Thanks to weak and nonexistent policies, the distributed-solar markets in these states have never been given a chance to shine," said Greer Ryan, sustainability research associate with the Center and author of the report. "There's room for improvement in solar policies across all 50 states, but it's especially shameful to see the sunniest states fail to lead the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy."
The report examines several policy areas in the 10 states that the authors say hinder solar growth, with Alabama ranking at the bottom of all of them.
"The [Alabama] legislature has made no moves to support the distributed solar industry, despite the opportunity for reliable, clean electricity, community resilience and job creation in a state that desperately needs it," the report states.
The factors considered in the report include:
- Net metering policy
- Renewable portfolio standards
- Community solar
- Third-party ownership
In addition to the factors listed above, the report notes that the Alabama Public Service Commission does not require Alabama Power to make available to the public its Integrated Resource Plan, a key planning document that sheds light on how utilities plan to meet the power needs of their customers.
According to the report:
"Not only does Alabama lack all key distributed solar policies, it also lacks any clear avenues for public involvement in the policy-making process, which landed it the number five spot on the list of states throwing shade on distributed solar development. Unlike Georgia, which has had to respond to public pressure for fewer barriers to solar market growth, Alabama's main utility does not have to respond to this same kind of pressure."
Alabama Power has said that policies like net metering or other solar incentives increase electricity costs to the company's non-solar customers, and they do not support passing those costs along.
The Center for Biological Diversity lobbies on behalf of endangered or potentially endangered species throughout the world, and advocates solar power as a means of averting the harmful impacts to wildlife from burning fossil fuels.
The full report is available on the Center's web site.