Homeowner association members will now be able to install solar panels on their rooftops more easily thanks to the passage of SB 745 by the Missouri legislature last week.
“We field dozens of calls a year for people who are told by their HOA that they can't put solar on the rooftop and the language in those covenants are really vague and not very clear,” said James Owen, an attorney, and executive director of Renew Missouri, a renewable energy advocacy group. “Sometimes, they have to take legal action to resolve that.”
SB 745 includes a prohibition that prevents HOAs from banning solar in their covenants and restrictions.
“Our Republican legislature understands that this is a property rights issue,” Owen told the St. Louis Record. “People should have some autonomy with what they do with their property even if they live in an HOA and especially if they live in an HOA that's very vague about what they're doing with solar. That’s what we're trying to do is just make sure this is clear to people.”
SB 745 must now be signed by Gov. Mike Parson by July 1.
“The provisions of this law are going to be very good for solar customers and solar providers,” Owen said. “Our job is to make sure that there is access to clean energy for all Missourians. The fact that this bill makes it less expensive to put solar on your property is a good thing.”
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Cierpiot (R-Lee’s Summit), SB 745 will implement a sales and use tax exemption on solar equipment.
“Solar companies and solar sellers will be able to pass those savings onto their customers,” he said. “Ideally, that's equipment they buy but if it's less expensive for them, it should be less expensive for their customers.”
The bill also mandates the creation of a task force called the Net Metering Task Force, which will commission a Value of Solar (VOS) study, which will determine what the true value of solar is statewide.
“We're very hopeful that if this study is done correctly, if this task force is selected and they do an objective job, then it will show what a lot of other states have shown is that solar is a good value for everyone involved and not just the people that have solar on their rooftops,” Owen said.
The Net Metering Task Force will be staffed with consumer advocates, renewable energy advocates, lawmakers from the House and Senate leadership as well as representatives from utilities.
“The study is to evaluate what solar does for these various parties and the Division of Energy is empowered under this statute to commission a value of solar study from an outside group,” he said.
Senate Bill (SB) 1684, sponsored by Rep. John Black (R-Webster, Greene), was among proposed legislation that the legislature did not approve.
SB 1684 would have allowed companies to recover the cost of building nuclear plants while they are being built. Currently, Missouri law prohibits utility companies from recovering rates on power plants before they are completed.
“I know it's just going to be reintroduced again during the next session, so we'll just have to be prepared to continue educating lawmakers that giving utilities the ability to build nuclear power plants and bill ratepayers before those plants are finished is bad for Missouri,” Owen added. “It's bad for customers and it's ultimately bad for utilities.”