HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: CLOVIS HONORE, GRID ALTERNATIVES, ON NEW SOLAR RATES AND FREE SOLAR FOR LOW-INCOME HOMES
By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery
Photo: Miriam Raftery and Clovis Honore
April 1, 2023 (San Diego) – In an interview with ECM aired on KNSJ, GRID Alternatives senior outreach coordinator Clovis Honore discussed the importance of signing up for solar now, before a mid-April statewide rate change kicks in. He also discussed options for free solar available to low-income homeowners in some communities.
Honore has spent much time speaking before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which gives him an informed view on the new net energy metering 3.0 rates for solar that take effect April 14, although applications submitted by that date will be grandfathered in.
GRID Alternatives provides free solar on low-income homes. The government determines where they can locate free solar and their San Diego office serves a small area around Gillespie Field in El Cajon, an area around the freeway in Lemon Grove, a coastal area around National City and Chula Vista.
When asked if solar installations are going to make sense to add after the new rates, he responds, “Absolutely. Absolutely… For our clients it’s always going to be good, because it’s free. For folks who have to invest in solar it’s going to take them longer to recoup their investment.”
Consumers who want to go solar should contact a solar company now, since it takes time to get designs completed and contracts submitted, though Honore says there is still time to meet the deadline.
Honore also speaks in this interview of his work with the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance, a consortium of approximately 60 local organizations. Honore encourages people to take their money out of the banks and put it in green and socially responsible investing, instead. “It takes extra energy, but it’s worth it to save the planet, I think,” he concludes.
Hear our full interview by clicking the audio link.