Press Releases
Congressman Jeff Van Drew Introduces PRESS Act to Incentivize Community Solar Projects
Washington, DC,
August 6, 2019
Congressman Jeff Van Drew has introduced the Promoting Renewable Energy with Shared Solar (PRESS) Act to increase access to affordable, renewable energy through community solar projects. The PRESS Act would add new federal standards for states to consider, not require, enacting policies that allow community solar projects up to 2 megawatts in size to be connected to their power distribution system and to allow the electricity produced to be credited directly to each of the consumers that owns a share of the system. “Bringing solar as a renewable energy resource for those who are not able to install solar panels on their roofs allows more communities to benefit from a solar array. It is important that we are looking at renewable resources and growing businesses based on them. The PRESS Act encourages these businesses and alternative methods.,” said Congressman Van Drew. According to a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, almost half of households and businesses are unable to host photovoltaic (PV) solar systems because they rent their spaces or have a lack of suitable owned roof space. The PRESS Act would require states to adopt new standards that allow community solar projects to be connected to the grid and allow electricity produced by shared solar facilities to be credited to consumers and therefore offset their electricity bills. Community solar programs can reduce the financial and technical barriers to going solar by aggregating customer demand and dividing the costs among all participants. These projects are also easier to site since the solar arrays can be located on or off site and be strategically located on commercial rooftops, brownfields, and municipal land. Removing barriers to community solar adoption could lead to billions worth of investment and create local jobs that cannot be outsourced. |
