The California Supreme Court on August 7 unanimously ruled that a lower court must revisit its earlier decision upholding NEM 3.0, according to nonprofit newsroom Cal Matters. The Supreme Court said the appeals court relied on the wrong legal standard when upholding the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)’s solar net-metering policy.
The issue stems from a 2022 court challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect Our Communities Foundation and the Environmental Working Group questioning the legality of the state’s NEM 3.0 policy, which reduced homeowner compensation for rooftop solar by up to 80% and led to massive layoffs in the residential solar market.
“California needs a large, thriving rooftop solar market to meet its clean energy goals,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, former president of the California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) and current senior vice president for California with Environmental Working Group. “The market is currently being stifled by the CPUC’s misguided NEM 3 decision threatening to undermine not only consumer choice and grid stability but also the state’s ambitious clean energy goals. We look forward to spotlighting just how illegal and out of step with California the CPUC has become.”
The case will now have another day in court, with clean energy advocates working to prove NEM 3.0 broke state laws requiring that net-metering policies help the rooftop solar market grow, especially in disadvantaged communities.