[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16553-16554]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              SOLAR ENERGY

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, solar energy serves the national interest 
in a

[[Page 16554]]

number of ways. It is reducing our reliance on fossil fuels that are 
causing climate change. It is helping America to become energy 
independent. It is creating jobs, 3,000 of them, at or near the solar 
plant under construction in Buffalo, New York.
  Solar panels empower consumers to generate clean and affordable 
energy at home and to sell the extra energy that they do not use to the 
grid. A policy called ``net metering,'' which requires utilities to pay 
a fair price for this energy to the consumer, is currently in place in 
all but six States. It has been vital to the growth of the solar 
industry by providing consumers with certainty on the savings that 
solar will produce in their energy bill.
  That is why I have introduced legislation to direct the Department of 
Energy to conduct a study on all of the impacts of net metering. 
Through a comprehensive analysis, we can ensure that regulators and 
policymakers have the accurate information they need to make a sound 
decision on whether to support consumer-generated solar energy.

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