Koch Brothers say RIP to New Hampshire solar net metering, other targets rising

Americans for Prosperity, a Koch funded group, noted that their work pushed New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu to veto a net metering expansion for 1 to 5 MW projects, even as the Governor said it would benefit the state.

November 1, 2018 John Fitzgerald Weaver

DOE - Hit me with your Sunshot

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu stated it would be a benefit to New Hampshire to expand net metering, then he vetoed the bill, calling it a “handout” to developers. The bill would have allowed projects between one and five megawatts to participate in net metering.

The Americans for Prosperity recently followed up with a message to their followers, as noted in the below tweet, that their activists were a strong part in making this happen. This action is part of long-term, broad political actions against clean energy – including a legislative push in North Carolina behind the so-called ‘Ratepayer Fairness Act of 2017‘.

Koch group Americans for Prosperity credits its “activists” (paid lobbyists) for Governor Chris Sununu’s vetoes of renewable energy bills #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/DuKnSLHIyd

— Dave Anderson (@cleantechfacts) November 1, 2018

Significant volumes of research have suggested that net metering is in fact a net benefit to ratepayers. The Brookings Institute highlighted a double-digit number of economic studies done by various states across country that noted the economic benefit in very specific terms.

These calculations have also been followed by field data providing further support. For instance, in California it was noted that efficiency and distributed energy saved $2.6 billion in transmission costs, and in New England and New York during this summer’s heat waves solar power saved rate payers $7.6 million on a Tuesday.

The Ratepayer Fairness Act of 2017 was submitted and sponsored by two politicians who have both received at least $15,000 in political support from various Koch related political groups. The purpose of the law is to require that all Public Service Commissions do a review to determine whether or not non-renewable customers are footing the bill for those who do invest in renewables, solar specifically.

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