DeSantis vetoes wildly unpopular net metering bill that would have gutted solar incentives

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finally did something right: Of the nearly dozen bills that came across his desk this week, DeSantis vetoed the net metering bill that would have essentially gutted incentives for homeowners interested in using solar panels. HB741 would’ve drastically slashed the funds solar panel leasers and owners receive for the energy their panels generate, known as “net metering.” I even thought DeSantis, who received more than $30,000 from Florida Power & Light, would sign the bill the company’s lobbyists helped create. DeSantis refusing to adopt the bill actually goes against his own record, as he’s publicly said he’s against solar subsidies and even signed a law last year that prevents Florida cities from getting 100% of their power from renewables.

According to a veto letter obtained by the Miami Herald, DeSantis came to his senses because the bill would’ve been wildly unpopular for him as a politician. ““Given that the United States is experiencing the worst inflation in 40 years and that customers have seen steep increases in the price of gas and groceries, as well as escalating bills, the state of Florida should not contribute to the financial crunch that our citizens are experiencing,’’ DeSantis wrote in a statement about his decision. It’s been abundantly clear that a majority of Floridians support the practice of net metering. Nearly half of Floridians polled in February said they’d be less likely to reelect a lawmaker who stood in the way of those incentives and when it came down to it, DeSantis didn’t want to be that lawmaker his constituents turned away from. 

There has been plenty that DeSantis has done wrong, especially as of late: the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” his weird fixation with “Let’s Go Brandon” bullshit, his COVID policies—the list goes on and on. But listening, at least in this case, appears to be one of the few things the stubborn Republican actually got right. Industry advocates, fellow lawmakers, citizens, and pretty much anyone invested in a greener future spoke out in droves against HB741 and their constant pressure worked. Rep. Carlos Smith even noted it on Twitter when celebrating the veto, tweeting that “advocacy matters.” It’s worth noting that, of the 10 bills that did pass, two involved energy: HB481, which affects temporary underground power panels, and HB1411, which actually allows more places in Florida to host floating solar facilities that take underused bodies of water and generate power from them while also decreasing evaporation rates for those waters