Stakeholder #3

jackmac34, "Dunes stakes sand" 15/10/15 via pixabay

Public Domain Dedication License

One can not forget the largest group involved in this solar crisis: the 17,000 Nevada residents who already installed the panels on their homes. With SolarCity pulling out of Nevada, and the Public Utility Commission making the panels cost ineffective, residents are left in an unfavorable position.

They are a wide spectrum of people, all united by their environmental consciousness: something that they may have to pay for, now.

"[They] just stole $48,000 from me with this decision," resident James Collier said, now that the cost of the solar panels will now outweigh their benefits, barely bringing in a net benefit, at best.

The Nevada PUC claimed that this decision was in the best interests of Nevada residents, in order to  make sure that non-solar resident did not pay for solar users' usage of the grid. Resident Paul Scott disagrees.

"I've called all of our Legislators and complained loudly and 'longly' about it. Clearly, we're not being listened to by the PUC and they're not acting in our best interest" (ktnv.com).

Even some celebrities have gotten involved with the controversy. On behalf of solar-using Nevada residents, Mark Ruffalo likens the PUC's actions as "taking from the people and giving to the rich” (Govtech).

The residents affected by this change are certainly impassioned, their words carrying great emotional conviction behind them. Few blame SolarCity, picking the Public Utility Commission and NV Energy as the target of their ire. SolarCity stands by Nevadan residents' calls for accessible soalr power, hoping that the state might choose to grandfather previous solar owners onto the new rate.