Update: The Local Solar Expansion Act, which aims to make solar power more accessible for more District residents, passed in a final vote Wednesday. The bill passed during the D.C. Council’s final legislative meeting of 2022 and will now advance to the mayor’s desk before it can become law.

Original: In a late night vote, the D.C. Council advanced a bill to require more solar energy in the District, despite opposition from environmental groups and concerns about the bill’s impact on low-income people of color.

The Local Solar Expansion Act aims to keep the solar industry in the District thriving, and keep the city on track to meet its climate goals. Without taking action, proponents say, the local solar industry could collapse, possibly costing hundreds of jobs. Plus, the price of going solar could become out of reach for many homeowners.

The problem is: solar has become too popular. The amount of solar in the District has more than doubled in the past three years, threatening to throw out of whack the market for renewable energy credits that subsidizes the local industry.

“We have a glut, and unless we deal with that, we put in jeopardy the solar industry and keeping it stable and all of the things that come with that,” said Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) ahead of the vote Tuesday night.

The solar expansion bill ups the amount of local solar required under the District’s renewable portfolio standard. Current law calls for 10% of electricity in the city to come from local solar by 2041; this legislation increases that to 15%. Additionally, the bill maintains the penalty that electricity providers must pay if they fall short of the solar target. Under current law, that penalty would begin to phase out rapidly beginning in 2024. The legislation makes the phase-out more gradual over the next decade.

The Council gave initial approval to the bill on a 10 to 1 vote, with two members absent. Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) cast the lone “no” vote, saying the bill would burden low-income people of color. The bill still needs a second vote, and the mayor’s signature, before becoming law. Lewis George said she would work to amend the legislation to address equity concerns before the second vote.

“I am a strong supporter of renewable energy and believe that we need to escalate our fight against climate change,” Lewis George said before the vote. “However, it would be wrong for us to pass a bill that benefits solar companies and solar panel owners at the expense of ordinary ratepayers and working people in apartment buildings and households across D.C.”

The bill, Lewis George, said, would “serve as a major subsidy for the solar industry and for the wealthiest residents who typically can afford to install solar panels, overwhelmingly at the cost of residents who cannot afford solar panels.”

Earlier this week, Council staff released the racial equity impact assessment of the bill, which finds the legislation will “harm economic outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx residents,” while helping wealthy residents gain more wealth.

“With this bill wealthy residents can 1) install solar panels on their homes nearly for free, 2) fully cover their electric costs, and 3) increase the value of their homes because of the added value of solar panels,” reads the assessment.

According to the assessment, the legislation will increase residents’ electric bills by $4.50 per month through 2028 and then $8.80 every month until 2042.

Supporters of the bill dispute those numbers. According to Cheh, the added cost to residents would be just $1.40 per month, when accounting for the cost savings that local power generation would bring to the electric grid.

Supporters of the bill also note the numerous ways that it helps low-income residents. For one thing, funds generated by the compliance penalties pay for the District’s Solar For All program, which has provided free access to solar for 9,000 households. Participating households have seen their electric bills cut in half. The bill would also put up to $150,000 toward outreach, encouraging residents to sign up for Solar For All – the program with a goal to reach 100,000 low and moderate income residents in the coming decade.

Additionally, some of the funds from penalties would go to the District’s energy assistance trust fund, which helps low-income residents with utility bills.

The legislation was opposed by the D.C. chapter of the Sierra Club and the D.C. Environmental Network, both of which argued that there are more cost-effective ways to promote clean energy.

The bill still needs a second vote, and the mayor’s signature, before becoming law. Lewis George said she would work to amend the legislation to address equity concerns before the second vote.