ALEC takes aim at rooftop solar industry

The American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that has attracted criticism from the Left for its ties to large corporations and for helping craft legislation for state lawmakers to advance conservative policies, is setting its sights on dismantling an incentive crucial to the rooftop solar industry.

ALEC’s board will vote on whether to adopt a resolution slamming “net metering,” a financial arrangement in which utilities pay customers who own rooftop solar panels for the excess power they generate and supply back to the grid. The group, whose annual meeting closed Friday in Washington, has suggested charging rooftop solar users for accessing the main power grid, though those customers mostly generate their own electricity.