‘Their recipe for incentivising batteries is to punish solar’: CALSSA exec hits out at California NEM proposal

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The proposal would cut export rates by almost 80% in an effort to encourage distributed energy storage. Image: REC Solar.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) most recent net energy metering (NEM) proposal is too extreme and will discourage homeowners from adopting residential solar, according to Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of clean energy business group the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA).

Speaking to PV Tech, Del Chiaro said that “instead of accelerating batteries, all we’re doing is decelerating solar”. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The most recent iteration of the proposed NEM 3.0 legislation incentivises battery storage alongside rooftop solar by proposing time-specific energy rates, higher ones at peak evening times and lower rates in the day. It also forecasts US$136/month savings for residential solar-plus-storage customers compared with US$100/month for standalone solar customers.

The most controversial measure, however, has been a near-80% cutting of export rates for residential solar customers. The current rate is US$0.30/kW, but the proposal would reduce this to US$0.08/kW.

Reactions across the industry have specified the need for a gradual glide path to lower export rates and thereby encourage storage.

“When you really crunch the numbers, which we’ve been taking the time to do, it doesn’t move the needle on energy storage,” Del Chiaro said.

In its original proposal for the NEM 3.0 legislation, filed in March 2021, CALSSA highlighted the importance of energy storage to the California grid and for meeting the state’s greenhouse gas targets. Distributed storage was cited as a key way to deal with increased load on the grid from electrification.

However, CALSSA’s original proposal said: “Limited battery availability and high soft costs for storage projects remain barriers to full-scale storage deployment, and the Commission must allow time for the distributed energy storage market to mature.”

CPUC’s November proposal said that its measures “allow for a transition period for the solar industry to adapt to a solar paired with storage marketplace”.

For Del Chiaro, the most recent proposed decision doesn’t fulfil this. “It’s like their recipe for incentivising batteries is to punish solar,” she said. Drastically decreased export rates will make domestic solar markedly less affordable for Californians.

A recent EY report identified decentralised grids and distributed solar as key to the implementation of renewable energy in developed countries. Wood Mackenzie research in October said that the US rooftop solar market was in growth mode, but the Californian NEM proposals were one of the factors that may pose challenges in the future given the state’s historically dominant position in the market.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

August 8, 2025
This week several solar developers have raised funds for projects around the world, including BRUC in Europe, Greenalia in the US, Qair in Mauritius and CREC in Philippines.
August 8, 2025
German solar inverter manufacturer SMA Solar posted losses in the first half of 2025, as demand in the residential and corporate & industrial (C&I) solar sectors 'remains weak'.
August 8, 2025
US solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies has posted revenue of US$362.2 million in the second quarter of this year.
Premium
August 8, 2025
Energy storage escaped much of the pain inflicted on solar, but foreign entity restrictions may create some supply-chain challenges.
August 8, 2025
Solar PV is likely to become less accessible to low-income Americans after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cancels the US$7 billion Solar For All scheme.
August 8, 2025
SolarEdge posted inverter shipments of 1.19GW in the second quarter of this year, alongside BESS sales of 247MWh.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines