California regulators on Tuesday banned solar contractors without electrical licenses from installing battery storage, a move solar advocates say will hurt their industry and hinder the state’s efforts to curb climate change and build up its clean-energy supply.
Impact: The multiyear battle at the Contractors State License Board has featured labor interests and other political heavy hitters vying to shape the rapid growth of rooftop solar and battery storage. Energy officials say solar-storage pairings are key to reduce emissions and localize energy supply, especially as climate change increases the number of heat- and wildfire-driven power outages.
Details: Board members sided with electrical workers’ unions as they voted 11-3 to determine that solar contractors without an electrical license are no longer authorized to install battery energy storage systems. They justified the decision by citing safety concerns, saying that electrical contractors have certifications making them more qualified to install batteries.
The agency based its ban on a June report it commissioned from the UC Berkeley Labor Center , which found the technical capacity of the electrical workforce exceeded that of the solar workforce and warned of the dangers tied to batteries. But the researchers acknowledged that “only a very small percentage” of battery installations were performed by solar contractors without an electrical license.
Federal data show there have been no worker-involved hospitalizations or fatalities linked to California batteries since at least the mid-2010s.
Solar advocates last year criticized the agency’s decision to commission the battery safety report from the Labor Center, calling the program “a longtime, outspoken and biased advocate of organized labor.” The state license board dismissed this claim.
The players: Supporters of the proposal to restrict solar contractors included the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Both are staunch allies of utilities that have resisted customer-owned energy systems.
Other powerful organizations came out against the proposed ban, including Tesla, the California Building Industry Association and the California Solar and Storage Association. The solar industry group is also leading the campaign to preserve bill-reduction benefits for solar owners, another battleground in which utilities and their allies oppose unchecked expansion of rooftop solar.
What’s next: The state agency said it would provide a 90-day grace period before enforcing the new ban.