Letters.

• Author: Ray, Bill
• Position: Letter to the editor

EDITOR: Your article in the July/August issue on the rapid expansion of residential solar, "Bright Days for Solar Energy," glossed over what we believe are important questions about whether current rooftop solar subsidies are cost-effective and equitable. At the heart of the debate is a subsidy known as net-metering, which typically requires utilities to pay rooftop solar system owners for excess power they generate at the utilities' full "retail rate." As a result, residential solar owners enjoy the benefits of the grid without paying for it. An analysis from the American Public Power Association indicates that net-metering can result in consumer cost-shifting, since it's typically the more affluent who can afford to install rooftop solar, leaving middle- and...