Utilities from Colorado to Hawaii are trying to fight an onslaught of distributed solar energy installations, and it's a battle that's worth watching from all sides.
Leading the charge against solar is Pinnacle West's (NYSE: PNW ) utility Arizona Public Service and Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE ) . APS has created a monthly charge of about $5 for owners of residential solar systems, and Hawaiian Electric has effectively put a moratorium on installations, which exploded in the most expensive electricity market in the U.S.
Caught in the middle is SolarCity, which is building residential systems at a rapid rate and will be negatively affected if costs are added to each systems.
But not every utility is fighting solar. NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG ) owns solar production assets and recently created NRG Yield to house solar assets and some traditional generation assets so it can take advantage of tax benefits. Edison International (NYSE: EIX ) has also invested in solar installation and bought a stake in Clean Power Finance.
Below, solar analyst Travis Hoium covers how this battle is shaping up and what investors should take from it.
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