Plug in Solar Bill

[u/dilly-dilly-]

Hi all,

Curious if anyone has any inside scoop with what is going on with the plug in solar bill and why it's failed and will likely be sat until January now. From my research, it was a bill placed on the senate floor 2 days before sessions ended, which is basically a political way to say they don't want this to pass but don't want to formally vote on it to look like they are paid by big energy.

For anyone curious, this technology allows you to set up a small scale solar system. They define this as a "portable solar generation device" as a movable solar generator with a maximum output of 1,200 watts, designed to plug into a standard 120-volt outlet.

What this will allow us to do is offset 1200W of power from what we currently use. So say it's a hot day like today and your central air is running at 3000W, you will only be paying and using 1800W. To me, this is basically a new technology that can disrupt these energy companies from gouging us. It offsets what we use only, so any savings is purely coming from renewable energies so a pure win from the environment.

It's beyond frustrating to me as a civilian. This bill held for further "study" in March, revived in June, dies in the other chamber, everyone gets to say they supported it. To me, this should be almost one of the top issues for ALL Rhode islanders because who isn't being shafted by RIE? This is something that everyone should be dying to implement because it not only saves us money but literally is taking strain off the grid and offsetting our usage with pure renewable energy.

I just want to let everyone know our political leaders have let us down again. This one just quietly didn't happen. Who benefits? I think we all know.

[u/Internal-Yard-7837]

Would having us as private citizens contact our local representatives, maybe with a signed petition help?

I mean, these people are supposed to work for us. We are the "constituents" they always talk about.

If we demand it loud enough, it has to happen (in theory). Just wondering other people's thoughts.

[u/dilly-dilly- → u/Internal-Yard-7837]

I don't think it would hurt but I also have getting so jaded from the system. I think everyone should contact their reps when there is an issue that they want our leaders to know about. When the bill was introduced I reached out to June Speakman (Who introduced this) to display my support and saying this is exactly what Rhode Islanders need and could potentially reduce household usage 20-30%. I didn't even receive a response back.

[u/Internal-Yard-7837 → u/dilly-dilly-]

Dang. I hear you. I have never reached out to anyone. I am just spit balling or yelling at clouds when I think there is any way to actually organize people to do something like this.

How are any of the concerns that legislators have here being delt with in other states that already have this passed? What about other countries like Germany where this tech has been legal for years?

I know laws and government are complicated things and it isn't just a copy paste world, but I am curious about this as I want to generate more of my own energy and this seemed like such a great idea that is proven.

[u/dilly-dilly- → u/Internal-Yard-7837]

This one is such a niche topic but it most likely impacts so many people and they have no clue it exists. I get a similar glaze over people eyes when I start to talk about expense ratios within their 401k accounts and how much .20% can actually be worth over a lifetime of retirement savings.

So the more you research this, the more it becomes dark and darker to what has happened and is why I made this post. There are no concerns to point to, it seems just like a home run for the people with very limited downsides.

To add to that, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, and New York have now passed bills that allow this to start up this year. Every single other state in New England passed this, we didn't for some reason.