Georgia House votes unanimously for solar financing bill

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Georgia House votes unanimously for solar financing bill

Georgia’s House quickly passed solar energy legislation on a unanimous vote Monday, sending it to the Senate for consideration.

Called the Solar Power Free Market Financing Act, House Bill 57 is aimed at making it easier and more affordable for Georgia homeowners and small businesses to put solar panels on their rooftops.

The bill — sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mike Dudgeon of Johns Creek — clarifies how homeowners can get outside financing of small solar installations. Solar advocates say a key to winning over homeowners is to make it easier to finance installation and equipment, which can cost $15,000 or more. With financing, homeowners can avoid upfront costs and pay for their use of the system over time.

“House Bill 57 is really about one primary thing and that is to make financing of solar panels legal for residences and small business,” Dudgeon told the House moments before the vote.

For years, solar legislation has failed to win House passage. But the latest bill eases earlier concerns that Georgia Power and other utilities have expressed about the safety of new installations, as well as their worries that the state would let in rival retail utilities.

The legislation, according to supporters, has been in the works for months and more than 90 parties have been involved with it. Georgia Power and trade associations that represent electric cooperatives and the solar power industry spoke in favor of it last month at a hearing before the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee. That panel endorsed the bill on a unanimous vote.

Solar companies have complained that uncertainty about what’s allowed under Georgia law has made it hard to sell homeowners, small businesses, churches and schools on solar financing. More than two dozen other states allow solar companies to cover the cost of new solar systems, own the equipment and then sell the power back to the customers. Often, homeowners pay nothing upfront, then pay solar bills tied to the amount of solar energy they use.