1. Why Sierra Club California Supports a Fair TAC Jim Stewart, PhD, Co-Chair, Energy-Climate Committee
The TAC adds about 3¢/kWh to the price of rooftop solar, a huge impact.
This market distortion unfairly favors centralized generation in remote areas.
Eliminating the TAC market distortion would result in more distributed generation (DG) in built-up local communities and less in pristine deserts.
This has huge implications for California’s habitat and pollution.

2. DG benefit: dual use siting reduces land use impacts
Centralized, remote generation
The emphasis of the Sierra Club is to stop global warming, while preserving the natural habitat.
If we can prioritize DG, we can disturb less habitat.
Obviously rooftops are a great locations for solar, as are parking lots (which help shade cars)
Both wind and solar installations disturb habitat.
It is true that the costs of large remote installations are cheaper per kwh, and desert installations have higher solar intensity than some cities, but adjusting the TAC would help compensate for this.

3. Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System
It’s important to note that remote, centralized generation requires disturbing massive amounts of pristine land, that can never be returned to its natural state.
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System covers 6 square miles of pristine public desert land.
Desert solar requires leveling the desert:
Destroying the crust which holds in soil carbon and reduces dust,
Killing endangered species like the desert tortoise.
Covers 6 square miles of pristine public desert land.
Desert solar requires leveling the desert:
Destroying the crust which holds in soil carbon and reduces dust,
Killing endangered species like the desert tortoise.

4. And, transmission lines require disturbing more pristine land
DG benefit: less transmission reduces energy losses which means less generation required to meet demand
And, transmission lines require disturbing more pristine land
DG minimizes energy generation required to serve load by minimizing:
1 transmission "line loss" which can range from 10 to 15% typically. It results from conductor loss and other effects. Conductor loss is due to the fact that the energy flows through a power line, which has a certain resistance to it
2 wasted heat, for example by using Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Less generation means reduced side effects of energy generation, e.g. air pollution, water use. The huge amounts of water used by fossil fuel based generation can be reduced with renewables

5. More DG means less polluting natural gas power generation
DG helps us meet clean air goals
Less generation means reduced side effects of energy generation, e.g. air pollution, water use. The huge amounts of water used by fossil fuel based generation can be reduced with renewables.
We can’t meet federal clean air goals without more renewables.

6. Climate change is creating more extreme weather.
DG additional benefit: Local resilience during storms, fires, heat waves, and power outages
Local energy security: CAISO has insisted every load pocket have expensive, polluting natural gas peaker plants ready to go online if a remote power plant fails or a transmission line goes down.
DG can provide local sources of ongoing power to communities.
This minimizes the need for those dirty peaker plants.
Climate change is creating more extreme weather.
DG can be engineered to provide ongoing power to communities, even if the grid goes down due to an extreme weather event
Although not a specific benefit to the environment, DG’s resilience is an important social benefit.
A photo of the Fish Fire on Monday, June 20, 2016.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (