How NV Energy Killed Solar in Nevada to Protect Their Profits
Nevada was once a leader in rooftop solar. Then NV Energy changed the rules, destroyed the industry, and secured their monopoly on the sun.
In 2015, Nevada had a thriving rooftop solar industry. By 2016, it was dead—killed by rule changes that critics say were designed to protect NV Energy's monopoly.
The Net Metering Battle
Net metering allows homeowners with solar panels to sell excess electricity back to the grid, offsetting their electric bills. It made rooftop solar economically viable for thousands of Nevada families.
In December 2015, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) approved new net metering rules that:
- Dramatically reduced the credit homeowners receive for solar power
- Increased fixed charges on solar customers
- Applied the changes retroactively to existing solar owners
- Made rooftop solar "uneconomical" according to industry analysts
The Industry Collapse
The effect was immediate and devastating:
- SolarCity ceased Nevada operations, laying off 550 employees
- Sunrun stopped installations
- Vivint Solar pulled out of the state
- Thousands of solar jobs vanished
- Homeowners who had invested in solar saw their investment values collapse
Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns NV Energy, defended the changes in a 2016 CNBC interview, saying solar customers had been "subsidized" by non-solar customers.
Musk vs. Buffett
The fight over Nevada solar became a battle between two of America's most prominent billionaires:
- Elon Musk (then chairman of SolarCity): Accused NV Energy of killing competition to protect their monopoly
- Warren Buffett: Defended the changes as ending unfair subsidies
Musk called Nevada's regulatory environment "the worst in the nation" for solar.
The Real Impact
For homeowners who had already installed solar:
- Monthly bills increased dramatically
- Payback periods extended from years to decades
- Home values affected by now-uneconomical solar systems
- Some faced fees that exceeded their solar savings
For the state:
- Thousands of clean energy jobs lost
- Solar installation rates plummeted
- Nevada fell from a solar leader to a cautionary tale
Partial Recovery
After massive public outcry, the Legislature passed a bill in 2017 to restore some net metering benefits, but the damage was done. The solar industry never fully recovered to its pre-2015 levels, and NV Energy's monopoly on power generation remained intact.
The Lesson
When a utility monopoly controls the rules, competition dies. Nevada homeowners learned that their energy "choice" extends only as far as NV Energy—and Berkshire Hathaway—allows.