DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Supreme Court is hearing a case Wednesday that could shape the future of how solar power is sold in the state and region.
The case puts electric companies against Eagle Point Solar, a Dubuque solar energy company. Eagle Point Solar wants to install its solar systems on businesses or municipality buildings and then sell the electricity produced back to the entities, The Des Moines Register reported (https://dmreg.co/1msUQFa ).
These power purchase agreements lower costs for businesses that want to use solar energy but don’t want the upfront expense of buying or leasing the solar systems. Nonprofit entities such as cities, school districts and churches cannot use federal and state tax credits designed to lower costs of installing solar power.
Attorneys for the electric companies - Alliant Energy, MidAmerican Energy and the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives - say such agreements violate state law, which gives the electric companies exclusive rights to those customers.
Attorneys and advocates for both sides will argue in front of the high court, which will determine if Eagle Point Solar should be classified under state law as a public utility like the electric companies.
If Eagle Point Solar receives the new classification, it could open the door for more companies to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy by working with more Iowa cities and businesses in the region.
Josh Mandelbaum, an Iowa attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, is arguing in the case. He said the case is about giving customers another option to help pay for solar systems.
“The broader implication is, this would allow more projects to be built,” Mandelbaum said. “You give consumers more choice, more Iowa consumers are going to be able to take advantage of this.”
Industry trade groups and the U.S. Department of Energy say 22 states allow these third-party power purchase agreements.
Justin Foss, a spokesman for Alliant Energy, said there’s a misconception that the case is about utility companies being against renewable energy. He said it’s about determining Iowa law.
“Sometimes you get these outside interests coming in and they have been in a state where it’s not regulated, so they have this view of how things work and then they come to Iowa and try and push those views on the state,” he said.
Barry Shear, president of Eagle Point Solar, said concerns from the electric companies over deregulation is not supported by evidence in other states where the agreements take place.
“The parade of horribles that is going to occur … it’s a fiction,” he said.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
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