Missoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, up for hearing at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 22, in the House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee. HB 524 requires anyone who sells a solar panel(s) to disclose the country of origin of the panel; the energy sources used to manufacture the panel; the pounds of carbon emitted during production; and a calculation of the time it would take for the solar panel to generate enough electricity to make the panel carbon neutral. The carbon neutral disclosure must include a comparative analysis to the energy produced by electricity providers in the local geographic area.
Transparency in any supply chain is important. The way this bill is written, it does not intend to increase transparency in supply chains. Instead, it makes it more difficult for Montanans who are in any way motivated to install solar at their home or business in order to reduce their emissions impacts.
Asking anyone who sells a solar panel to disclose this information would be like asking gas stations to disclose the country of origin of petroleum before we can fill our tanks, or asking the same for the diesel generators used for backup power at home, or asking that diesel come with information about where the product was extracted, refined, and sold. We know these would be onerous requirements. The United States Energy Information Administration notes that it simply cannot “determine how much of the crude oil produced in the United States is then consumed in the United States” because of the convoluted nature of the supply chain. Petroleum is often mixed with imports from other countries, stored for use later and/or resold. This makes it impossible to precisely determine how much of the product comes from where. In general, supply chains are not always fully transparent and cannot always be fully transparent. This bill does not address that problem, it simply adds onerous requirements on the growing solar workforce.
Importantly, the solar industry is making a large push to support and boost domestic manufacturing. Bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the IRA have provisions that are intended to help move manufacture of solar panels to the United States. Montana should consider these efforts and consider whether there are ways to take advantage of these opportunities here in Montana. This is especially salient given the presence of REC Silicon in Butte.
This bill will make solar installations more difficult in Montana, a product and service that is in strong demand throughout Missoula County and the entire state.
Missoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, up for second reading on the House floor this afternoon. HB 524 requires anyone who sells a solar panel(s) to disclose the country of origin of the panel; the energy sources used to manufacture the panel; the pounds of carbon emitted during production; and a calculation of the time it would take for the solar panel to generate enough electricity to make the panel carbon neutral. The carbon neutral disclosure must include a comparative analysis to the energy produced by electricity providers in the local geographic area.
Transparency in any supply chain is important. The way this bill is written, it does not intend to increase transparency in supply chains. Instead, it makes it more difficult for Montanans who are in any way motivated to install solar at their home or business in order to reduce their emissions impacts.
Asking anyone who sells a solar panel to disclose this information would be like asking gas stations to disclose the country of origin of petroleum before we can fill our tanks, or asking the same for the diesel generators used for backup power at home, or asking that diesel come with information about where the product was extracted, refined, and sold. We know these would be onerous requirements. The United States Energy Information Administration notes that it simply cannot “determine how much of the crude oil produced in the United States is then consumed in the United States” because of the convoluted nature of the supply chain. Petroleum is often mixed with imports from other countries, stored for use later and/or resold. This makes it impossible to precisely determine how much of the product comes from where. In general, supply chains are not always fully transparent and cannot always be fully transparent. This bill does not address that problem, it simply adds onerous requirements on the growing solar workforce.
Importantly, the solar industry is making a large push to support and boost domestic manufacturing. Bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the IRA have provisions that are intended to help move manufacture of solar panels to the United States. Montana should consider these efforts and consider whether there are ways to take advantage of these opportunities here in Montana. This is especially salient given the presence of REC Silicon in Butte.
This bill will make solar installations more difficult in Montana, a product and service that is in strong demand throughout Missoula County and the entire state.
Missoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, scheduled for second reading today on the Senate floor.
HB 524 will harm small businesses operating in our area and make it harder to install solar energy systems. In its current form, the bill adds a "county of origin" (COO) disclosure requirement for residential solar panel installations. The problem with this COO requirement is that the punishments for the solar professionals are outrageous: failure to comply can result in thousands of dollars in fines, years of jail time, and investigations by the Attorney General. However, the bill also does not provide any enforcement or verification guidance, making it even more challenging for small solar companies to comply with this new requirement. Further, COO labeling is already handled through federal law enforcement. This is a punitive bill that may seem harmless but could prove to significantly punish small solar companies for an issue that is largely out of their control.
Sent 2/21:
ReplyDeleteRepresentative Sullivan,
Missoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, up for hearing at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 22, in the House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee. HB 524 requires anyone who sells a solar panel(s) to disclose the country of origin of the panel; the energy sources used to manufacture the panel; the pounds of carbon emitted during production; and a calculation of the time it would take for the solar panel to generate enough electricity to make the panel carbon neutral. The carbon neutral disclosure must include a comparative analysis to the energy produced by electricity providers in the local geographic area.
Transparency in any supply chain is important. The way this bill is written, it does not intend to increase transparency in supply chains. Instead, it makes it more difficult for Montanans who are in any way motivated to install solar at their home or business in order to reduce their emissions impacts.
Asking anyone who sells a solar panel to disclose this information would be like asking gas stations to disclose the country of origin of petroleum before we can fill our tanks, or asking the same for the diesel generators used for backup power at home, or asking that diesel come with information about where the product was extracted, refined, and sold. We know these would be onerous requirements. The United States Energy Information Administration notes that it simply cannot “determine how much of the crude oil produced in the United States is then consumed in the United States” because of the convoluted nature of the supply chain. Petroleum is often mixed with imports from other countries, stored for use later and/or resold. This makes it impossible to precisely determine how much of the product comes from where. In general, supply chains are not always fully transparent and cannot always be fully transparent. This bill does not address that problem, it simply adds onerous requirements on the growing solar workforce.
Importantly, the solar industry is making a large push to support and boost domestic manufacturing. Bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the IRA have provisions that are intended to help move manufacture of solar panels to the United States. Montana should consider these efforts and consider whether there are ways to take advantage of these opportunities here in Montana. This is especially salient given the presence of REC Silicon in Butte.
This bill will make solar installations more difficult in Montana, a product and service that is in strong demand throughout Missoula County and the entire state.
Please oppose HB 524.
Sent 3/1:
ReplyDeleteRepresentatives,
Missoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, up for second reading on the House floor this afternoon. HB 524 requires anyone who sells a solar panel(s) to disclose the country of origin of the panel; the energy sources used to manufacture the panel; the pounds of carbon emitted during production; and a calculation of the time it would take for the solar panel to generate enough electricity to make the panel carbon neutral. The carbon neutral disclosure must include a comparative analysis to the energy produced by electricity providers in the local geographic area.
Transparency in any supply chain is important. The way this bill is written, it does not intend to increase transparency in supply chains. Instead, it makes it more difficult for Montanans who are in any way motivated to install solar at their home or business in order to reduce their emissions impacts.
Asking anyone who sells a solar panel to disclose this information would be like asking gas stations to disclose the country of origin of petroleum before we can fill our tanks, or asking the same for the diesel generators used for backup power at home, or asking that diesel come with information about where the product was extracted, refined, and sold. We know these would be onerous requirements. The United States Energy Information Administration notes that it simply cannot “determine how much of the crude oil produced in the United States is then consumed in the United States” because of the convoluted nature of the supply chain. Petroleum is often mixed with imports from other countries, stored for use later and/or resold. This makes it impossible to precisely determine how much of the product comes from where. In general, supply chains are not always fully transparent and cannot always be fully transparent. This bill does not address that problem, it simply adds onerous requirements on the growing solar workforce.
Importantly, the solar industry is making a large push to support and boost domestic manufacturing. Bills like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the IRA have provisions that are intended to help move manufacture of solar panels to the United States. Montana should consider these efforts and consider whether there are ways to take advantage of these opportunities here in Montana. This is especially salient given the presence of REC Silicon in Butte.
This bill will make solar installations more difficult in Montana, a product and service that is in strong demand throughout Missoula County and the entire state.
Please oppose HB 524.
Senators,
ReplyDeleteMissoula County opposes HB 524: Revise energy laws relating to solar panels, scheduled for second reading today on the Senate floor.
HB 524 will harm small businesses operating in our area and make it harder to install solar energy systems. In its current form, the bill adds a "county of origin" (COO) disclosure requirement for residential solar panel installations. The problem with this COO requirement is that the punishments for the solar professionals are outrageous: failure to comply can result in thousands of dollars in fines, years of jail time, and investigations by the Attorney General. However, the bill also does not provide any enforcement or verification guidance, making it even more challenging for small solar companies to comply with this new requirement. Further, COO labeling is already handled through federal law enforcement. This is a punitive bill that may seem harmless but could prove to significantly punish small solar companies for an issue that is largely out of their control.
Please oppose HB 524.