In an article published yesterday by Bloomberg
entitled “Battery-Stored Solar Power Sparks Backlash from Utilities,” which
describes efforts by California’s privately-owned utilities to block network
access for residential and commercial solar systems seeking net-metering
benefits, at:
Adam
Browning, executive director of the San Francisco-based lobbying group Vote Solar
Initiative, was quoted as saying, “The next step is that people with solar
and batteries will find a way to make it work without utilities.”
Etopia
News contacted Mr. Browning, asking him to elaborate his views on the evolution
of battery-assisted solar systems and their relationship with utilities. He responded with this statement:
“I think the parallel to the telecom industry is
striking. At one point, customers could only lease a landline telephone
from AT&T. And it came in one, maybe two colors. With the advent of
the mobile phone, choice, innovation, and value exploded…and customers finally
had an option other than to simply take whatever their phone company decided.
In the case of AT&T, they were faced with developing the mobile
business their customer wanted, or losing their customers. Solar +
batteries presents that same proposition: either utilities figure out a way to
make it work for their customers, or customers will figure out a way to make it
work without utilities. With the drop in costs driven by expanding scale
for both solar and batteries (the latter driven by EVs [electric vehicles]),
that day is not far off.”
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