Solar Rooftop Energy Harms Minorities....

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

This is NOT a story about race, it is a story about a consulting firm trying to turn solar power (specifically net-metering) into a race issue..

Politic365, a media website that touts itself as “the premier digital destination for politics and policy related to communities of color,” has emerged as a leading online critic of home solar energy, publishing nearly a dozen articles about how policies to promote solar energy-powered homes will harm minority groups, particularly African Americans.

The website looks and feels like a traditional media outlet, and in many ways it is. It covers a range of issues, from policing to the 2016 presidential campaign. But when it comes to energy policy, readers of the site may not realize that Politic365 is maintained by a public policy consulting firm that serves the utility industry.

The issue at hand is “net metering,” a rule that allows homeowners to claim credits for the electricity they generate and send back to the grid. Electric utility companies view the proliferation of such rules as a threat to their bottom line and are lobbying to repeal net metering policies throughout the country.

Politic365 has published article after article criticizing net metering, arguing that the policy leads to regressive rate hikes. Matthew C. Whitaker, a guest contributor, claimed that net metering will increase utility rates on low-income customers, meaning the policy will have a “negative impact on African Americans.” Another article, by Politic365’s E.R. Barnette, asked why “are policies like net energy metering allowed to proliferate unchecked when they hurt the American people who can’t afford [sic] install solar panels?” Politic365 founder and editor-in-chief Kristal High has blogged multiple times in opposition to net metering, at one point castigating a proponent of rooftop solar as aloof and “privileged.”

The claim that residential solar energy providers are shifting costs onto low-income consumers is disputable. The Politic365 writers do not consider the benefits of community-based solar projects, which share solar power with renters and tenants, nor do they consider research showing that solar producers have actually saved ratepayers money by providing energy back to the grid. As the environmental news site Grist noted, when “structured correctly, net metering can spread economic benefits across communities, including to those who can’t produce their own solar power.”

NetCommunications, a public policy consulting firm that registered the domain for Politic365, has been retained in the past for public relations campaigns on behalf of the utility industry. It was founded by Julia Johnson, who is Politic365 editor-in-chief Kristal High’s stepmother. High also disclosed during a radio program last year that she is a paid consultant to DCI Group, a lobbying firm that represents Verizon, ExxonMobil and other interests.

I asked High about her relationship with NetCommunications and the DCI Group. In an email, she responded, “Our mission is to provide opinion and analysis about issues driving the day, and in doing that we partner with and seek sponsorships and support from a host of organizations. While your questions seem to suggest that our focus is energy, that is a relatively small proportion of the issues we address.”

Johnson did not respond to a request for comment. In addition to consulting for the utility trade groups in the past, Johnson is also a highly paid board member for two firms with a stake in the net metering debate. Securities and Exchange Commission filings reveal that Johnson is a board member for utility companies FirstEnergy and Northwestern Energy. For 2014, Johnson was paid $210,060 in cash and stock awards from FirstEnergy and $184,728 in cash and stock awards by Northwestern Energy.

Politic365’s advocacy has been touted by interests opposed to home solar energy as an example of independent opposition to net metering. For instance, the Arizona utility APS quotes Politic365’s High to argue agains

The rest of the article is here...

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/06/17/media-outlet-communities-color-lashes-solar-power/

Edited June 17, 2015 by OnMyWayID

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Solar panels and black people. Where's Danno when you need him...

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Solar panels and black people. Where's Danno when you need him...

You should read the article, its not what you think it is..

[Darnell 8,478]

Johnson is a black woman?

taking monies from the energy companies, touting how solar panel usage on the refund grids hurts low income black people?

with an agenda to stop this grid refunding, cause that's what she's paid to do?

Anyone think she's a sell-out to big-business?

[decocker 7,198]

verizon is the devil.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

You should read the article, its not what you think it is..

I wasn't giving you a hard time. But as funny as it might sound, Danno actually brought this up a few years ago. He tried to somehow tie in solar panels with poor black people. That's why I made the comment.

Reading it now..

[Boiler 43,425]

Are these people who think they are black or really black.

Net metering etc tends to favour the wealthy. That is the way ot usually has been set up with tax credits etc.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

without net metering, there really isn't any financial incentive from the power company for one to install solar. i disagree with the premise that it will hurt lower income individuals as the power company does not need to generate power, just maintain the distribution lines - so even more potential profit for them (along with less pollution too).
i see this article as mere propaganda by the energy industry to maintain their control over a much needed everyday resource,

[Darnell 8,478]

i see this article as mere propaganda by the energy industry to maintain their control over a much needed everyday resource,

I agree, but

if that lass is BLACK, then she's progagated a huge 'race-sell-out' on her own self.

Which, of course, will suck once these 'activists' learn more about it.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

without net metering, there really isn't any financial incentive from the power company for one to install solar. i disagree with the premise that it will hurt lower income individuals as the power company does not need to generate power, just maintain the distribution lines - so even more potential profit for them (along with less pollution too).

i see this article as mere propaganda by the energy industry to maintain their control over a much needed everyday resource,

Agreed, if they could just collect the lost revenue by charging it to somebody else they would not be spending all this money to fight net-metering.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

Agreed, if they could just collect the lost revenue by charging it to somebody else they would not be spending all this money to fight net-metering.

maybe something like 2 cents cheaper on the kilowatt for feeding electricity back into the system. the utility company saves money, the homeowner gets an incentive, and the lower cost of electricity fed back into the grid can keep costs down for all.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I just put a 9.18 kWh system on my roof. In addition to net-metering I get $.54 per kWh PRODUCED. I get $.54 because my panels and inverters are made in Washington state.

I love it! It pays to live in the desert.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

verizon is the devil.

It's only one of many devils out there.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Agreed, if they could just collect the lost revenue by charging it to somebody else they would not be spending all this money to fight net-metering.

It's a lost fight anyways. Net metering is coming and won't be stopped. That doesn't keep lobbies from doing what they do, of course.

[Rob L 3,811]

It's a lost fight anyways. Net metering is coming and won't be stopped. That doesn't keep lobbies from doing what they do, of course.

I agree about the lost fight, but these industry shills don't have to win out right, they just need to slow the rate of progress. These disinformation campaigns will pay back the Carbon industry X fold by delaying upgrading our infrastructure. We are so far behind Germany in this area it should be considered a strategic risk to our economy.