US rooftop market falters in face of NEM reforms

In late December an appeals court threw out a lawsuit which had attempted to overturn California’s new NEM 3.0 policy, which has now reached a stable form and will come into effect from April 15th, slashing payments per kWh by 80%, making energy storage almost necessary to get a half-decent payback time, and causing 17,000 job losses, per the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA), which also notes an 80% fall in sales. The immediate situation is negative for the overall rooftop solar across the US, given that California has been by far the biggest market, and given that similar – if less severe – ‘reforms,’ really meaning cuts to previously generous (perhaps overgenerous) net metering or net billing payments,…