Tennessee Senator Lee Harris introduces Clean Energy Legislation

Net metering policies encourage individuals, businesses to use solar

Nashville, TN – Legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris to authorize net metering and make clean energy a better deal for individuals and businesses has been introduced in the state Senate.

“Net metering allows people and businesses to generate clean, renewable energy and sell back what they don’t use to their utility providers,” Senator Harris said. “This legislation will lead to cheaper utility bills and greater adoption of clean energy such as solar in Tennessee.”

Tennessee is second in the nation for individual energy consumption by individual households, but we are one of only four states that don’t authorize net metering. Solar panels in Tennessee could have the capacity to generate 23 percent of all electricity, with the potential for 16,000 Megawatts.

“The adoption of net metering is an important milestone for our growing solar industry, which is adding jobs nationwide at a rate 12 times faster than the overall economy,” Senator Harris said.

Tennessee’s solar industry consists of 151 companies employing 2,200 people across the state, accounting for 70 percent of our renewable energy sector.