<p><em>​​Shift Key is off for the holidays, but we hope you’ll enjoy this classic episode.</em></p><br><p>Rooftop solar is four times more expensive in America than it is in other countries. It’s also good for the climate. Should we even care about its high cost?</p><br><p>Yes, says Severin Borenstein, an economist and the director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. In a 2024 blog post, he argued that the high cost of rooftop solar will shift nearly $4 billion onto the bills of low- and middle-income Californians who&nbsp;<em>don’t&nbsp;</em>have rooftop solar. Similar forces could soon spread the cost-shift problem across the country.</p><br><p>On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with Borenstein about who pays for rooftop solar, why power bills are going up everywhere, and about whether the government should take over electric utilities. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University.</p><br><p><strong>Mentioned:</strong></p><br><p>Shift Key’s rooftop solar series, featuring&nbsp;<a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-episode-17-mary-powell-sunrun" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Mary Powell</u></a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-episode-18-severin-borenstein" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Severin Borenstein</u></a>, and Heatmap’s own&nbsp;<a href="https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-episode-five-rooftop-solar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Emily Pontecorvo</u></a></p><br><p>Jesse’s&nbsp;<a href="https://energy.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Utility-of-the-Future-Full-Report.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>distributed energy research</u></a>&nbsp;at MIT</p><br><p><a href="https://www.solarchoice.net.au/solar-panels/solar-power-system-prices/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Australia’s Solar Choice Price Index</u></a></p><br><p>More on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/griddy-argues-it-championed-consumers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Texas’ Griddy debacle</u></a></p><br><p>Leah Stokes et al. on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/blog/Final%20Greenwashing%20Report%20%281.22.2021%29.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>utilities’ climate record</u></a></p><br><p>--</p><p>This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …</p><br><p><strong>Heatmap Pro</strong>&nbsp;brings all of our research, reporting, and insights down to the local level. The software platform tracks all local opposition to clean energy and data centers, forecasts community sentiment, and guides data-driven engagement campaigns.&nbsp;<a href="https://d2qwfv04.na1.hubspotlinks.com/Ctc/X+113/d2QWfV04/VXhfTJ8GbX4ZW62B_ZM6_BMySW4lQ0X35GT0T_N5SJSmC9l0H-W7YbdcM6lZ3m1W2TjZgH7Y4q3kW2vT2xV44S72lW6vXwnl6p0p4JW5H2h-w3WKwr5W8tjRFh4YbQvSW4ZMqfw4gwLgxW5dpshN6fys40W5pZ2rY8YpMDbW8ytT3j5FlxKCW1j21w57ymRvGW1fYTW15qVyWmVYQW694c9zpWW5QB5vK100hrlW97SJZJ45jNcgVfykF-8cXzNdW9j66g28J-G2qW7NH6Pj2RKfsfW39rWj_6s7c2VM8MQ5-tPgQcW5drMkM1CCm1JW6Wwf3d7nqldWW6Ww7Dj56KS2bW4sT9YK3rK5-JW4vPdc-4QvgKSN8FrzLdFPB3RW7FYSq97sBhjPVQfHjf92G4SKW1J49Gg3_WdP1VQ27Tx23lTrcW5wWklb9btc4GW87Psb08Xc5vfN4rl4KHCrJg_W4B9Tpk4hSg94W1yhDhB1JLgj6W3gQ1nw8DdyL3W5J2QlL85dgW8W5_TQ0Z8RTb4GW156WBb1yc_JKW35cMS4983yNSN2tv2gVr4h1DW4pp8b96ZkWwfW5Lsv9-8-b-YPW7C9lWK43F5nLW5vQcT32S9tBJW7qmPkh23z9l1W5vRr5Y3JgCCJW6J4LYC1RFT0yW4fZw4V7c2x2RVPMYBj3J7sxdW3Fh5_w7wBkTNW50Fk_m3t0x_LW6KdlJm7N-KRSW90WW0v1QrSdyW5LC9ZX57hNGCW2mLg191BW3S0W3zTHPJ858jTcW7F5cYm333mYtW5mgXps3Q1HTHW2G51_Y2WY0_gW2Y6fs58lhp77W7RDmJ32QTSGyN8FSjw_Xv7RgW4dgR2H89lDMZW6c4Npf8lY519W6BjLQ48XP8K6W6m5WWq5P-W0VW79T3K16nrTqfW1lgrf46QsmDHV4KGRG7jZrZYW53sS7z2rmRk1W1fHqch8dZynkW94kM8k99bCB6V_zfv356qwhNW7q9-V04pyV98f4Wl6Gq04" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Book a demo</a>&nbsp;today to see the premier intelligence platform for project permitting and community engagement.</p><br><p>Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>