Tell SC legislature not to kill 3K solar jobs just to suit lobbyists
In just three years, we have built a 3,000-person solar energy industry in South Carolina based on a successful solar energy law. Within the next two weeks, our state legislature is poised to destroy it.
Unlike any other industry in South Carolina, current state law sets a limit on the size of our rooftop solar industry. Without immediate legislative action, the quickly-growing industry will hit the limit before the legislature returns. Layoffs will likely begin this summer, and South Carolina will say goodbye to thousands of workers in one of its most promising tech industries.
How crazy is that?
Imagine if you owned a legitimate small business that was expanding, hiring people, paying taxes, and helping people reduce the highest home electric bills in the nation. But the state would literally put you out of business if you grew too much, unless you went back every few years to ask if you could stay in business.
That is the rooftop solar industry today in South Carolina.
This is a predicament only a utility lobbyist could love.
A couple of weeks ago, a large bipartisan majority of the House initially voted to remove the cap. But in an astounding reversal, once it became clear that the bill would soon pass on to the Senate, House leadership — acting on behalf of the utility lobby — killed it on procedural grounds and then walked away without finding a way to save 3,000 jobs.
Procedural shenanigans are no excuse to kill the rooftop solar industry in South Carolina. Real leaders don’t kill jobs. They recognize that energy technologies and markets are changing, and they look for a path forward.
No business (think: electric utilities) should have its profits guaranteed by eliminating all competition, regardless of changing market conditions or poor past investments.
South Carolina should welcome and nurture its diverse solar industry.
With only two weeks left, we need leadership.
The bipartisan majority in the House who voted to raise the limit, including every member of the Beaufort County delegation, should get this bill back on the table, and secure these benefits for the people they serve in our great state. And the Senate, which has stood idly by, must take action.
This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Tell SC legislature not to kill 3K solar jobs just to suit lobbyists."