Vol. 16, No. 11

Does your state have the right stuff to build a clean energy economy? 

To help you answer this question, last month, IREC, along with the Vote Solar Initiative, released our annual  Freeing the Grid report card for state net energy metering (NEM) and interconnection policies.

After seven years of grading state net metering and interconnection policies, we have a bit of perspective on how they have changed over time.  One thing is for sure: we are looking at a vastly different policy landscape than when we started grading them back in 2007. That first year, for example, we saw only five A's in NEM and none in interconnection. Fast forward to 2013, and there are 17 A's in NEM and six in interconnection (see the charts below for a breakdown of 2007 vs. 2013 grades).

While the progress we've made over the past few years is consequential, we should not stop paying attention to these influential policies. Lagging states still need our help. Moreover, distributed generation market conditions are always changing, obliging states to periodically review their policies to ensure they're still effective. This year, we revised our grading criteria to keep up with innovations from the leading states.