skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

A Bill to Kill Solar Power in Indiana?

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 20, 2015   

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Clean-energy supporters and utilities are at odds over a new bill at the statehouse.

Electricity customers in Indiana who use solar power receive credits for selling excess power back to the grid, but HB 1320 would minimize those credits, and allow utilities to set fixed charges for solar users.

Brad Morton, owner of Morton Solar in Evansville, is among those speaking out against the legislation. Morton says it would increase the cost to install solar power, effectively killing it as an energy option in Indiana.

"It takes the incentive out of the homeowner's pocket and puts it right into the pocket of the utility company," he says. "That's what this bill is all about, shifting the profits from the homeowner to the utility company."

According to supporters, HB 1320 would ensure fairness among all customers when it comes to paying for use of the electric grid. The 14 member utilities of Indiana Energy Association back the bill, saying in a news release that "It’s a common sense approach that will correct inequities for customers, and ensure the viability and growth of clean energy options." But Morton argues it would stop the wave of solar implementation in Indiana.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory database, the state's solar output jumped from less than 500 kilowatts in 2010 to more than 3,500 in 2012.

Debbie Dooley, the founder of Conservatives for Energy Freedom, works around the country advocating for policies that support solar power. She says encouraging innovation will spur competition, but with solar pricing at an all-time low, Dooley says utilities and fossil-fuel interests are simply concerned about their own bottom line.

"They see solar as a threat because it will give consumers some degree of energy independence and energy choice," says Dooley. "This is not just going on in Indiana. This is being played out in states across this nation."

Morton says it's not just the users of solar who will pay a price if the new legislation is approved, but the 1,000 jobs the solar industry supports in Indiana. He says lawmakers need to stop building barriers to energy efficiency.

"It shouldn't be considered political at all," says Morton. "It's not something that because you're on one side or the other that you're for or against. Solar benefits everybody, and it's your only option besides the utility company."

Last year, state leaders approved legislation that ended the state's energy-efficiency savings goal and statewide efficiency programs.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …


Ohio is among 13 jurisdictions requiring Saturday and Sunday hours for early voting. (PX Media/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and the American Heart Association in Missouri is urging caregivers to take some much-needed time for themselve…

Menhaden are forage fish species and filter feeders, each capable of filtering up to seven gallons of water per minute. (Photo of female Osprey with Menhaden/TRCP)

Environment

play sound

In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021