Newsom Just Vetoed California's Community Solar Bill Why Your Own Roof Is Still the Surest Path to Savings

Newsom Just Vetoed California's Community Solar Bill
Why Your Own Roof Is Still the Surest Path to Savings
Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed Assembly Bill 1813, a measure that would have reformed California's community solar program. The bill had passed the Legislature and was supported by several community energy providers, but it will not become law.

What AB 1813 would have done
Community solar lets people subscribe to a share of a larger solar project instead of installing panels on their own roof. It is often promoted as a way for renters and people who cannot install rooftop systems to benefit from solar. California's community solar efforts have struggled to take off, and AB 1813 aimed to change that by requiring regulators to adopt or modify a customer renewable energy subscription program with enhanced compensation for projects paired with battery storage.

Why the governor vetoed it
Newsom's objection centered on cost. He said the bill would effectively require an administratively set price for community solar energy that would exceed the value that energy provides to the grid. The CPUC's Public Advocates Office estimated that the approach could cost ratepayers an additional $1.5 billion a year. In other words, the governor concluded that the program's costs would be spread across all utility customers, including those who never subscribed. The veto was about affordability for ratepayers as a whole, not a judgment on solar itself. In fact, on the same day, Newsom signed bills supporting plug-in solar and home battery virtual power plants.

What it means for homeowners
For now, community solar is not expanding in California. Renters will continue to have limited options, though the new plug-in solar law will help some of them. Homeowners, however, do not need to wait for a state program. A homeowner can install solar directly on the roof and pair it with a battery, without depending on a subscription program, a set price, or future legislation. The benefits go straight to the household: lower bills, protection from future rate increases, and backup power during outages. A home battery also captures value that community solar subscriptions generally cannot. It stores your own solar energy for the expensive evening hours on SCE, SDG&E, and PG&E time-of-use plans, and it keeps essential loads running in your house when the grid goes down.

A direct path, without buying equipment
Through third-party ownership programs, qualifying homeowners can get solar and battery storage installed without buying or financing equipment, while enjoying lower energy costs and backup power. Community solar may come back in another form someday. In the meantime, your own roof is still the most direct way to take control of your energy costs. See if your home qualifies.

To find out if your home qualifies for a TPO solar and battery program, visit myhomesolution.org/california_public_utility_commissions