Nevada solar grandfathering to ‘rebuild residential sector’, says Sunworks

The Nevada Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) recent decision to grandfather 32,000 solar customers into a pre-existing favourable rates structure has created a significant business opportunity for local installer Sunworks, and according to the company, is the next step to restoring the residential sector.

Sunworks has said that the fact that a significant sect of customers will be restored back to full credit net metering allows it to assist an additional 15,000 residents to acquire residential solar systems. These additional customers had projects that were previously put on hold due to the punitive nature of the new rate structure introduced at the beginning of 2015.

"It was devastating to see many of clients' investments from the past 10 years decimated," said Travis Miller, project manager for Sunworks NV and founding board member of the Great Basin Solar Coalition. "This decision is the first step in correcting the prior ruling, and Sunworks is well-positioned to rapidly respond, assisting the thousands of Nevada residents who have been waiting to secure the benefits of solar energy."

After the PUC decision on Friday that homeowners with active applications submitted before 1 January 2016 could revert back to full-retail net metering, Sunworks vocalised its belief in the resurgence of Nevada’s troubled residential sector, and is even poised to assist customers whose contractor boycotted the Nevada market. SolarCity recently made a statement expressing the same hope for the state's sector after the PUC ruling.

"We are eager to assist Nevada residents moving forward with their solar projects. Today, thousands of customers have a restored opportunity to benefit from this decision,” said Jim Nelson, company CEO. “Sunworks will continue providing the hard working and independent people of Reno the opportunity to experience benefits of owning their power."

Tags: us, usa, nevada, net metering, grandfathering, residential, sunworks, public utilities commission