Lawmakers and Utilities Consider Removing Solar Restrictions on Apartments 

Growing interest in solar power is prompting some lawmakers and utilities to remove existing restrictions on solar installations for apartment communities. For example, a new rule from the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that takes effect in March 2009 facilitates the installation of solar power at affordable, multifamily housing. The new PUC rule allows utility companies to measure the electricity entering into the power grid from a community's solar power system. Apartment residents receive credits on their power bills based on the size of their residential unit via virtual net metering. This indicates that utilities use a space-based or other formula to estimate power usage for each unit. Owners pay for installation and recover these costs via a monthly flat fee charged to residents. The state of New York provides condominium and cooperative housing owners with a 25 percent tax credit for installing solar energy systems. In Massachusetts, the recently enacted Green Communities Act enables "neighborhood net metering," where residents of several housing units can become co-owners of a solar-power system and use the power generated to reduce their individual bills. The approach is currently being considered by such states as New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado.

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