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The Assembly energy committee backed legislation to require that installers of large solar rooftop panels be paid prevailing wages. Lawmakers also moved bills forward to make it easier to build needed transmission infrastructure and to incentivize firm energy and also distributed energy resources for non-investor-owned utility customers.

The one bill that generated considerable controversy was AB 2143 by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles). It would mandate that installers of net-metered solar rooftops 15kW or greater—between 42 and 65 arrays depending on who you talk to—receive prevailing wages.

In spite of the opposition, it passed 12-0, with some lawmakers abstaining because of concerns about cost impacts, the extent of which were heavily debated.

Carrillo told the Assembly Utilities & Energy Committee during the April 6 hearing that solar installers are not paid on par with other electrical workers.

“This is a reality that we cannot accept as we move to a clean energy economy,” she said, pointing to the green energy push dubbed “a just transition.” Carrillo said that includes fair compensation for those working on large projects that reap NEM payments for power exported to the grid. She insisted the prevailing wage would not apply to residential installations of solar rooftops, which are between 6-10 kW.

The average pay of solar installers is $23 an hour, according to Scott Wetch, a lobbyist for California State Pipe Trades Council and other labor groups. The prevailing wage varies but is $35 dollars an hour plus $16 in benefits in Sacramento. He insisted the bill would lead to only a 3-5% cost increase for large NEM compensated systems.

Net Energy Metering itself is hugely controversial because of the cost shift to those without solar arrays. Utility regulators are under fire for proposing to slash payments and raise costs over concerns it would seriously undermine the distributed solar market.

Numerous owners of small solar businesses said being forced to pay prevailing wages would drive them out of business.

“It will kill my business,” said Kenneth Wells, CEO of O&M Solar Services , a Los Angeles-based residential solar installer.

Committee Vice Chair Assemblymember Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) worried about the cost impact on farms that are forced to fallow land because of the drought. He abstained from the vote with the hope that matter would be resolved as the bill advances.

Climate and wage paradox

The “paradox” is that we have to get off fossil fuels, but that industry pays its workers six figures, said Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Los Angeles), who used to chair the committee. “We have to bridge that gap,” he said, adding that in spite of concerns, the bill “has a lot of merit.”

The other four bills passed by the panel faced no or little opposition, including AB 2696, which would remove a follow-up study done by the California Public Utilities Commission on the need for new transmission projects already the subject of in-depth grid operator analyses.

“California is falling behind” on getting new transmission built to reach its clean energy goal, said Committee Chair Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella). He authored AB 2696, which would allow high voltage projects to be built after undergoing an analysis by the California Independent System Operator.

“Analyzing the need twice on the same project makes no sense,” Jan Smutny-Jones, Independent Energy Producers executive director, told the committee.

The bill also would analyze alternate sources of funding for new transmission projects to lighten ratepayers’ growing utility bill burden. That includes federal and private money or a combination of public and private funding.

AB 2696 passed on an 11-0 vote. It will be heard next in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

Also passed was Garcia’s AB 2587, on a 13-0 vote. It seeks to ensure baseload renewables and zero-carbon resources are included in the growing resource portfolios needed to attain a decarbonized grid.

“We need a balanced portfolio with a diversity of resources,” said V. John White, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies executive director. “Firm clean resources need to be a part of that.”

The California Public Utilities Commission ordered that 1,000 MW of firm renewables and 1,000 MW of geothermal be part of the mandated 11.5 GW of new resources required to be online by mid-decade. According to Garcia, many firm resources take a long time to come online so their procurement should be considered sooner.

AB 2587 was approved on a 13-0 vote. It also will be heard next in the Natural Resources Committee.

Tracking inoperable EV chargers

A measure to require data collection and an annual study on the state of electric vehicle charging stations, which are funded by the public and ratepayers, would be required under AB 2061 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). Ting’s measure was approved on an 11-0 vote and was sent to the Appropriations Committee.

The reliability of the charging stations in our state is key to a successful transition to the electrification of transportation, Ting pointed out.

About 30% of the chargers are broken, with the rate suspected to be higher in disadvantaged communities, according to Samantha Ortega, a manager with ChargerHelp, a Los Angeles-based company that services charging stations.

Last year’s state budget included $500 million for charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles. The Governor’s proposed 2022-23 budget includes $390 million to deploy chargers for 1,000 drayage trucks and 1,600 transit buses, as well as $500 million for charging infrastructure across a range of vehicle classes.

The last bill passed on Wednesday with no debate was AB 2667 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Los Angeles). It would provide incentives to customers of municipal power agencies and community aggregators for installations of commercially-available distributed resources, be they smart chargers, a clean microgrid for backup power, or mobile power stations.