HB1741

YES! It is long overdue for this and I am thrilled to make steps toward putting it in action.

This is a very important bill. It would lower energy costs for all citizens.

Supporting distributed energy resource aggregation increases grid resilience, lowers costs for ratepayers, and accelerates the transition to clean energy while expanding access to community-based energy solutions.

Please support HB1741. Distributed energy resources and distributed power plants would improve grid resilience, shave peak demand, reduce ratepayer costs, and limit reliance on fossil-fuel peaker plants while bettering system reliability. This has been demonstrated in other states as nearby as Vermont, and it would allow benefit businesses and homeowners while providing benefits, such as cost savings, to all ratepayers.

Solar United Neighbors (SUN) Action is a national nonprofit that represents the needs and interests of solar owners and supporters across the country. We work to create a clean, resilient, and equitable energy system. On behalf of our approximately 6,000 supporters in New Hampshire, SUN Action is pleased to express our strong support for HB 1741 and its goal of providing solutions for energy affordability and creating energy independence and innovation. Through passage of HB1741, New Hampshire will join a line of other leading states, including Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, and Colorado, that have taken the legislative step to enable Distributed Power Plants (also called Virtual Power Plants) as a critical grid services and capacity tool. Distributed Power Plants are the fastest growing source of on-demand capacity for utilities across the country. Connecting fast-to-deploy rooftop solar-powered home and business-based batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and other devices that enable home electrification and decarbonization, Distributed Power Plants leverage private-sector investment and innovation allowing clean energy resources to scale quickly and cost-effectively. From Puerto Rico to California to Arizona to New England, established Distributed Power Plant programs are proving that they can out-compete existing peaking fossil resources to keep bills lower and the lights on. Because Distributed Power Plants target clean energy deployment exactly when the grid needs it the most at times of peak demand, Distributed Power Plants help utilities achieve the hardest decarbonization goals – allowing peaking fossil units to stay offline or negating the need to build them altogether. Modeling results at just one utility in the Intermountain West, the nonprofit organization RMI found that Distributed Power Plants could reduce the need for new gas by 75% or 1.5 GW and enable 200 MW of additional renewable energy, while reducing net generation costs by 20% or $140 per family (source: RMI’s Sept. 2024 Power Shift report). And again, these numbers are not just theoretical. Just this summer, hundreds of megawatts of Distributed Power Plants reduced peak demand and lowered bills for Americans across the country. In the neighboring state of Massachusetts, one of the nation’s leading programs has delivered over $8 million in net benefits to households (source: Clean Energy Group 2021 Assessment). In Puerto Rico, the Energy Bureau estimates that for every dollar in incentives paid in the program, residents receive at least $2 in cost saving benefits. In short, Distributed Power Plants are an essential tool for clean energy deployment, reducing energy costs and fostering a more resilient, reliable grid. The time for smart, effective Distributed Power Plant policy is now, with customers installing home batteries at much higher rates than ever before. Wood Mackenzie estimates that 35% of all home solar installations this year will include batteries, and New Hampshire is no exception. These battery installations represent significant amounts of already deployed clean energy resources, just waiting for the right legislative policy to put Distributed Power Plants on a level playing field with other resources. Thank you for your time and consideration of this important piece of legislation. We hope you will support HB 1741 and its ability to help keep energy affordable for all New Hampshire residents.

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