Poll: Majority of voters would disfavor candidates who block rooftop solar

By Kyle Roerink

Wednesday, April 29, 2015 | 12:01 a.m.

Nevada’s rooftop solar industry is not sitting quietly as the legislative session winds down and its chances of winning a critical battle on a controversial policy wane.

Industry advocates have purchased TV ads and billboards, made media appearances, organized a 700-person rally and most recently released a poll to help garner support for increasing a limit on how many consumers can participate in a policy known as net metering. The policy offers consumers a credit for installing solar panels on their rooftops, powering their homes and providing energy to the grid. Nevada, with its 300-plus days of sunshine per year, is fast gaining a national reputation for its growing solar industry. But solar advocates say the 5,900 jobs and carbon-free energy to the grid it currently provides are poised to hit a road block.

The credit, which offers net metering customers a lower rate on their energy bills, is the crux of a debate between NV Energy and solar leasing companies like SolarCity and Sunrun, both of which employ 1,000 people in the state.

The utility company, with a strong presence in the Carson City lobby, calls the policy a burden on non-solar customers and has squelched any attempts to lift the current cap. That effort has left skeptical solar lobbyists and advocates about seeing an increase in the cap.

The poll, publicly released today and paid for by the Alliance for Solar Choice, provides a sample of how likely voters would react to lawmakers who fail to increase the cap. The results show that 70 percent of Nevadans support net metering.

WPA Opinion Research conducted the poll. It has a reputable polling track record and is known for its work with Republicans in the state. It polled 300 likely voters on the telephone on April 20 and 21, finding that 69 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats polled would be less likely to re-elect a politician that opposed a net metering policy.

The poll cuts across party lines, said Bryan Miller, vice president of public policy for Sunrun and co-chairman for the Alliance for Solar Choice.

Republicans have the majority in both chambers in the Legislature but have not made any effort to have a public debate on net metering in the first three months of the session.

“This is terrible politics for the Republican majority,” Miller said. “We've got big government about to strangle competition at the request of a state-sponsored monopoly.”

In the last two weeks, solar lobbyists have met with Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and GOP Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson to try to hash out a deal. The conversations amounted to little, according to lobbyists who were involved in the negotiations.

Sandoval has said he would remain neutral on the topic and would wait to see if lawmakers in either party supported a bill.

Currently there are no bills in play that call to increase the cap on net metering.

That inaction was the impetus for a rally last week at a Las Vegas based NV Energy office. More than 700 people attended the event. The billboards, which pan NV Energy as a killer of solar jobs, are popping up in Carson City and around the Las Vegas Valley. Local and national media have devoted airtime and headlines to the matter.

More than 2,500 NV Energy customers participate in net metering. The industry says the cap will be met as early as summer or before the end of the year. NV Energy estimates it will be maxed in 2016.