Today, Prosperity Indiana rose in opposition to SB 309, a bill that would end net metering and solar energy investment, which would have dramatic and negative consequences for community development organizations and sustainable development throughout the state.  

Prosperity Indiana’s Director of Sustainability, Allyson Mitchell, was joined by other non-profit advocates, residents, local businesses, environmental advocates, and school corporation representatives in offering testimony opposed to the measure.  Read her testimony below for context on the bill’s impact for Prosperity Indiana’s membership.

SENATE UTILITIES COMMITTEE
TESTIMONY, SB 309
ALLYSON MITCHELL, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY
FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Chairman Merritt and members of the committee,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this morning.   My name is Allyson Mitchell and I am the Director of Sustainability for Prosperity Indiana, formerly the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development, or IACED. We are a network of 230 non-profit organizations, units of local government, private companies and institutions dedicated to building vibrant communities and resilient families. I hope that my testimony will give voice to other Prosperity Indiana members in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state committed to using energy alternatives to make a difference in our communities, and those who work on the front lines assisting low-income individuals and families ascend from poverty into economic stability.

Working to advance policies that respond to urgent human needs, help expand economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in communities of all sizes throughout the state is essential to our members and partners.  That is why I come before the committee today urging opposition to SB 309, a bill that will limit the choices for low income Hoosiers to pursue strategies for economic self-sufficiency.

It is critical to recognize the natural intersections between the benefits of distributed energy generation like solar and the needs and interests of low-income communities. Solar technology, coupled with efforts to increase energy efficiency, can dramatically lower utility costs for residential properties. While certainly beneficial to everyone, these kinds of outcomes can have particular significance for lower-income households, who often struggle to stretch earnings to cover basic costs like utilities, health care, and transportation. We feel Senate Bill 309 does not consider the interests of low-income Hoosiers.

Rooftop solar provides individuals with the ability and independence to generate their own electricity. You may not picture the mobile home owner who wants to use solar panels to reduce his monthly utility bill and have more money to feed his children when you imagine rooftop solar. Or the low income housing developer pursuing solar to help his tenants keep up with their bills and keep their lights on. But rooftop solar is indeed used exactly those ways.  It is a path to personal financial responsibility for low income Hoosiers in cities, small towns and rural areas. Indiana should be increasing, not limiting, the choices and opportunities for low income Hoosiers to improve their quality of life.

In my role at Prosperity Indiana, I am developing a program called Solar Uniting Neighbors, or SUN. The program aims to remove inequalities and barriers to the acquisition and installation of solar panels, lower energy costs for transformative community economic development projects, and build capacity for solar energy in Indiana. We envision solar panels on the roof of our member organizations - soaking up rays, lowering operating costs, thereby allowing more funds for programs that help low income individuals help themselves. We also envision providing a low interest loan to a low-income, single-parent homeowner for a small solar array so she can afford her electric bill year-round and build credit in anticipation of sending her daughter to college. If passed, Senate Bill 309 could eliminate these types of projects.

Prosperity Indiana and its members believe in working collaboratively on asset-building strategies that help lift Hoosiers out of poverty permanently, and access to net metering is one such strategy. Senate Bill 309 ultimately eliminates net metering, a critical part of financial infrastructure within solar project financing that ensures low-income Hoosiers can access the sun to power their homes, their personal financial goals - and their dreams.

We have concern that Senate Bill 309 does not take into account the impact that ending net metering would have on low income Hoosiers and therefore we urge you to vote NO on Senate Bill 309. Thank you for your time today.