Slashing solar incentives is bad for business, say Indiana tech CEOs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

A coalition of Indiana tech and finance CEOs are urging governor Holcomb to veto the state’s controversial solar bill that aims to slash solar incentives for residential customers.

Indiana governor Eric Holcomb is still considering the legislation.

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

Telling reporters in a news conference yesterday that he is happy with how the legislative session has gone so far, the Republican remains uncertain about the balance of Indiana’s solar industry.

SB 309 would completely overhaul the state’s solar market. Although those who install solar systems before the end of the year would be eligible to keep the retail credit rate for 30 years, final reductions would see Hoosiers receive around 75% less for their net metered solar energy if the bill is passed. Specifically, the retail rate of 11 cents/kWh would drop to the wholesale rate of 3 cents/kWh for extra solar energy produced, plus a 25 cent premium.

It breezed through both the House and Senate, and now awaits Holcomb’s decision.

Bill opponents say the legislation would discourage a relatively new industry still in its infancy, while utilities contend that they must pay solar power generators more for their energy than it would cost to generate themselves. Further, bill author Brandt Hershman said the legislation creates further investment for a more balanced energy policy in the state.

Tech leaders urge Holcomb to veto solar bill

More than a dozen business leaders from across the state signed a letter urging Holcomb to veto the bill.

According to the state’s political news forum, signatures ranged from the founders of ExactTarget and LifeOmic to company presidents and CEOs from Omicron Biochemicals, Octiv and Salsvue.

Donald E. Brow, founder and CEO of bioinformatics company LifeOmic, said the bill reflects poorly on the state and would discourage new entrants into the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workforce.

“As a technology CEO, I’m keenly aware that the sort of people we’re trying to attract for high tech positions here in Indiana tend to be in favour of renewable energy, sustainability and environmentally protective measures,” he said. “And this bill runs counter to all of those.”

Pamela Cooper, CEO and co-founder of offers and loyalty platform Boosterville Inc., agreed with Brown, expressing that the Indiana legislature is moving backwards in its thinking.

“When you’re an Indiana based business and you have a general legislative culture that seems to be backwards thinking instead of forward looking, I could see [why] investors would not want to invest in Indiana-based businesses, fearing that maybe other incentives and other laws might change to be against a forward thinking tech environment and infrastructure,” said Cooper.

Holcomb declined to comment on the bill until he’s made a decision. He has until 2 May to do so.

21 May 2024
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 21-22 May 2024, will be our third 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 2025 and beyond.
8 October 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 8-9 October 2024 is our second PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The event in 2023 was a sell out success and 2024 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.
26 November 2024
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2025. PV ModuleTech Europe 2024 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA
Solar Media Events
April 17, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
May 1, 2024
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
May 21, 2024
Napa, USA