California’s New Solar Subsidy Plan Is Really About Batteries

(Bloomberg) — California — the biggest US solar market — is poised to overhaul its landmark subsidy for rooftop panels to encourage homeowners to also install batteries to help stabilize its power grid and prevent blackouts.Most Read from BloombergA plan unveiled Thursday would give homeowners bigger incentives to install batteries along with solar systems instead of just panels alone. The plan threatens to slow the pace of rooftop installations, but would strengthen a state grid that’s buckled during repeated summertime stretches of extreme heat.California’s proposal signals a new direction for state-level solar policies across the US. While subsidies were once designed to move rooftop systems from the niche to the mainstream, panels are now ubiquitous in many communities. Today, state policymakers are focused on the reliability of a grid that’s become dependent on…

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