Aliya Wishner
"Benjamin Franklin" reads the Hoosier Declaration of Energy Independence at a rally in Indianapolis.
Energy freedom advocates in Indiana won a major victory recently when Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma withdrew House Bill 1320, which threatened to make rooftop solar more expensive and to rig the game in favor of monopoly electric utilities.
Over 100 Hoosier homeowners, farmers, small business owners, and pastors packed a committee hearing on February 28 to urge their elected officials to protect energy choice, and their efforts paid off. The fight continues, however; language from HB 1320 could be inserted into another piece of legislation, and the Indiana State Senate also recently passed Senate Bill 412, placing control over energy-efficiency programs in the hands of Indiana's monopoly utilities. Senate Bill 412 also threatens to drive up the cost of energy efficiency, which provides valuable savings to Hoosier energy bills by helping to reduce energy waste.
The local activists leading the charge on rooftop solar aren't giving up until their elected representatives commit to energy freedom in Indiana. Local homeowners, faith leaders, and clean energy advocates rallied in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis to voice their support for rooftop solar and share stories of how energy choice affects their daily lives.
Pastor Brian Flory of the Beacon Heights Church of Brethren spoke about his church's decision to pursue solar power. Their current plan is to install solar panels that would pay for themselves within 8-9 years. But if HB 1320 or similar legislation were enacted, his church could be paying back its solar investment for as long as 20 years, significantly affecting its ability to serve the community through its ministries.
Sarah Loshe, a Fort Wayne resident, spoke about her need for energy choice as a small business owner. "I'm planning to open my own business within the year, and was deeply concerned to learn of utility-led efforts to make solar and energy efficiency costly for Hoosiers. Rooftop solar and energy efficiency give us more choices as consumers, provide affordable energy, and create local jobs for our community. We should have the freedom to choose how we power our homes and businesses, the right to create our own energy, and receive an equal exchange for the electricity we generate from our solar panels."
Solar advocates were joined at the rally in Indianapolis by none other than founding father Benjamin Franklin (aka Frank Watson, a local activist), who read a “Hoosier Declaration of Energy Independence.” He began by declaring that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are entitled to certain unalienable Rights, that among these are the right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and Energy Freedom."