On Monday, June 13, energy experts from Crossborder Energy will release their report on the benefits and costs of rooftop solar in Wyoming in a webinar, Rooftop Solar in Wyoming: Analyzing Benefits & Costs. This webinar will cover the report’s findings, including a benefit-cost analysis of the impacts of residential rooftop solar on ratepayers in the service territories of several Wyoming utilities. The full report will be released during the webinar. The study was commissioned by Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming Outdoor Council, and the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club.
In this webinar, Crossborder’s energy experts Tom Beach and Patrick McGuire will present the study’s main findings and then give participants the opportunity to ask questions about rooftop solar and net metering in Wyoming. The webinar will be moderated by Scott Kane of Creative Energies.
“Our study took a comprehensive look at the benefits and costs of net metered residential solar systems in the Wyoming service territories of Rocky Mountain Power and two rural electric cooperatives. We concluded that the benefits exceed the costs, such that there is no “cost shift” from net metering in Wyoming,” said Beach, one of the study’s principle consultants. “Our study also found that rooftop solar is a cost-effective resource in Wyoming, and measures to encourage greater adoption of this clean resource would benefit all ratepayers in the state
The webinar is free but requires advance registration. Registration is available at bit.ly/RoofSolarWY . The webinar will run 11 am – 12 pm starting with Crossborder’s presentation followed by a question-and-answer period.
For more information on the webinar series, contact sanderson@powderriverbasin.org, 307-763-0995 or johnb@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org, 307-438-1956.
The report and the executive summary are available here.
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Webinar Speaker Bios:
Tom Beach
Tom Beach has approximately 40 years of experience on rate design and ratemaking issues for natural gas and electric utilities. He began his career in 1981 on the staff at the California Public Utilities Commission, working on the implementation of PURPA. Since leaving the Commission in 1989, he has had a private consulting practice on energy issues and has appeared, testified, or submitted testimony, studies, or reports on numerous occasions before state regulatory commissions in 19 states. He is known as a national expert on the regulatory issues surrounding rooftop solar generation.
Scott Kane
Scott Kane is a co-founder and co-owner of Creative Energies and oversees the business administration, human resources and policy advocacy. He has been certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) as a Certified Solar PV Installer. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geology from St. Lawrence University. He has served on the board of directors for the Wyoming Outdoor Council, Wyoming’s oldest conservation non-profit and is active in Climate Change awareness and advocacy work. Scott was a NOLS Instructor through the 1990s and early 2000s prior to starting a solar business. He is an avid endurance athlete competing regularly in trail running and ski marathons and ultramarathons. He lives in Lander with his wife, Michelle Escudero, and daughter, Magdalena.
