Opinion: Solar policy plan jeopardizes housing and energy affordability

Housing affordability and the need for reliable clean vitality are two of the bulk pressing issues facing California in current times which makes it especially baffling why legislators are considering a bill that hurts both goals at the same time weakening home values for owners and raising utility costs for homeowners and tenants Increased success in latest years installing solar at multifamily housing has been encouraging Tenants in apartment buildings need help stabilizing vitality costs The solar that has been installed for them is a great achievement However the State Legislature is considering a bill written by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon a Whittier Democrat and former executive at the parent company of for-profit potency giant Southern California Edison that would cause those savings to vanish for numerous tenants If passed Calderon s bill AB would suppress the expansion of affordable housing and cause a troubling loss of trust in state commitments For years California encouraged people to invest in rooftop solar through clear state-mandated contracts These agreements guaranteed that anyone who installed solar panels before April would receive fair compensation for the power they produce for a full years even if they sold their property These terms are explicitly outlined in contracts signed by solar adopters and utilities This -year promise gave property owners the confidence to take out long-term loans or leases to finance their solar systems knowing their capital would retain value and transfer to future owners AB would break this promise Related Articles Plan to fund beleaguered Bay Area transit agencies in faces political headwinds Opinion State bill letting cities profit from stolen carts could cost customers California to examine its Amazon oil ties following pleas from Indigenous leaders from Ecuador Walters California schools need leaders attention more than money Philp California Democrats defend immigrant soundness care but need a broader agenda The bill would force any new owner of a solar-equipped property onto a new initiative that drastically reduces the value of solar strength credits The aftermath is a solar system that once helped keep potential bills low and added value to an apartment building would suddenly become a financial liability Buyers would see less benefit from the existing solar panels sellers would likely be forced to pay off the remainder of their solar loans or leases out of pocket often at a loss Multifamily housing typically changes hands several years after construction If the solar rules are stripped away tenants would not get the expected benefits and the property owner that wants to sell would lose money and be less likely to invest in California in the future right at a time the state requirements more assets in housing When the state retroactively changes the terms of its own contracts it sends a chilling message to anyone considering a long-term capital in clean strength or property improvements If solar contracts can be rewritten after the fact what s next This uncertainty would inevitably slow the adoption of rooftop solar and future improvements undermine the state s environment goals and destabilize the sector for energy-efficient housing Supporters of AB argue that the bill is about fairness for non-solar ratepayers But the reality is that multiple solar adopters are middle-class families who stretched their budgets to invest in solar trusting that the state s -year guarantee would hold A critical portion of solar households earn less than a year others provide housing to low-income tenants in apartment buildings These are not wealthy elites but everyday Californians who presumed in the promise of affordable clean power AB goes in the wrong direction risks making force less affordable and hurts property values all while raising ability costs leaving families poorer and with bigger bills each month It erodes the trust that underpins California s clean potential leadership and will deter future outlay in housing and resource If we want to help reduce the cost of living lawmakers must reject AB and honor the commitments that made California s solar success viable in the first place Alfred Twu is secretary of the California Democratic Renters Council Mark Rhoades is president and CEO of Rhoades Planning Group