Onsite Electric Generation: New Options for Solar

Property owners, including congregations and other community-based groups, will have more options to install solar electric systems as a result of SB 981 (Carona/Anchia). SB 981 opens up new opportunities for "third-party ownership" of solar and other distributed electric generation systems.

Third-party owners are entities that own electric generating systems—like solar panels—and either lease the systems to customers (who offset the lease cost through savings from lower electric bills), or lease roofspace from property owners (who may also save on their electric bills in addition to receiving lease payments). Prior to the passage of SB 981, Texas law was unclear as to whether the owners of small electric generation systems should be classified as "generators," putting them in the same category as power plants. This technicality proved to discourage third-party ownership arrangements, significantly curtailing the customer base for distributed generation and especially for solar PV.  

SB 981 clarifies that a third-party owner is not a power plant and need not be certified with the PUC as long as their system does not generate more electricity than is expected to be consumed at the property where the generation is installed.  This provides regulatory security for the third-party owner and the recipient property that no one will interfere with their investments or contractual relationship. 

SB 981 will help foster broader adoption of solar generation by making it more affordable and more convenient. One of the major obstacles to renewable generation, such as solar, is the high initial purchase price of installing a generating system. Another signficant obstacle is the responsibility for maintenance that accompanies onsite generation ownership. Under a third-party ownership relationship, the property owner saves on their utility bill, and the market is open to installers to provide more systems to people who either cannot afford the up-front investment or do not want the responsibililty of maintaining a system going forward.

Here's How They Voted On Final Passage of SB 981:

HOUSE

AYES - 146
Aliseda(R); Allen(D); Alonzo(D); Alvarado(D); Anchia(D); Anderson, Charles(R); Anderson, Rodney(R); Aycock(R); Beck(R); Berman(R); Bohac(R); Branch(R); Brown, Fred(R); Burkett(R); Burnam(D); Button(R); Cain(R); Callegari(R); Carter(R); Castro(D); Chisum(R); Christian(R); Coleman(D); Cook(R); Craddick(R); Creighton(R); Crownover(R); Darby(R); Davis, John(R); Davis, Sarah(R); Davis, Yvonne(D); Deshotel(D); Driver(R); Dukes(D); Dutton(D); Eiland(D); Eissler(R); Elkins(R); Farias(D); Farrar(D); Fletcher(R); Flynn(R); Frullo(R); Gallego(D); Garza(R); Geren(R); Giddings(D); Gonzales, Larry(R); Gonzales, Veronica(D); Gonzalez, Naomi(D); Gooden(R); Guillen(D); Gutierrez(D); Hamilton(R); Hancock(R); Hardcastle(R); Harless(R); Harper-Brown(R); Hartnett(R); Hernandez Luna(D); Hilderbran(R); Hochberg(D); Hopson(R); Howard, Donna(D); Huberty(R); Hughes(R); Hunter(R); Isaac(R); Jackson, Jim(R); Johnson(D); Keffer(R); King, Phil(R); King, Susan(R); King, Tracy(D); Kleinschmidt(R); Kolkhorst(R); Kuempel(R); Landtroop(R); Larson(R); Laubenberg(R); Lavender(R); Legler(R); Lewis(R); Lozano(D); Lucio III(D); Lyne(R); Madden(R); Mallory Caraway(D); Margo(R); Marquez(D); Martinez(D); Martinez Fischer(D); McClendon(D); Menendez(D); Miles(D); Miller, Doug(R); Miller, Sid(R); Morrison(R); Munoz(D); Murphy(R); Naishtat(D); Nash(R); Oliveira(D); Orr(R); Otto(R); Parker(R); Patrick, Diane(R); Paxton(R); Pena(R); Perry(R); Phillips(R); Pickett(D); Pitts(R); Price(R); Quintanilla(D); Raymond(D); Reynolds(D); Riddle(R); Ritter(R); Rodriguez(D); Schwertner(R); Scott(R); Sheets(R); Sheffield(R); Shelton(R); Simpson(R); Smith, Todd(R); Smithee(R); Solomons(R); Strama(D); Taylor, Larry(R); Taylor, Van(R); Thompson(D); Torres(R); Truitt(R); Turner, Sylvester(D); Veasey(D); Villarreal(D); Vo(D); Walle(D); Weber(R); White(R); Woolley(R); Workman(R); Zedler(R); Zerwas(R)

NAYS - 0

PRESENT-NOT-VOTING - 2
Bonnen(R); Straus(R)

ABSENT - 2
Howard, Charlie(R); Smith, Wayne(R)

SENATE
Passed unanimously on the Local Calendar.