Under California regulations, property owners with abundant sunlight aren't allowed to partner "over the fence" on solar projects with their neighbors.

My Marin County roof is shaded by a giant oak tree, while my next-door neighbor’s roof bakes all day in the sun. Over the years, as my PG&E bills have soared, I’ve dreamed of walking over with a plate of cookies to propose that we co-invest in solar power, to reduce our bills and our air pollution.  

Alas, while technically possible, my dream is a non-starter. California’s Public Utilities Code forbids sharing energy “over the fence” unless you’re a regulated utility.

Eco-entrepreneur and Oakland native Paul Fenn thinks that’s wrong and is trying to do something about it.

Article continues below this ad

Decades ago, as a University of Chicago philosophy doctoral student, Fenn became obsessed by the flaws in American democracy, which he saw as the root of society’s failure to stem the increasing climate havoc caused by burning fossil fuels for energy. In the 1990s, he helped write laws, first in Massachusetts and then in California, to create Community Choice Aggregators —  or CCAs — local, nonprofit agencies designed to sell more affordable and cleaner energy.

CCAs now offer services to roughly 50 million Americans in more than 1,500 municipalities, according to Fenn. In California alone, they’ve invested nearly $50 billion in clean energy projects.

See more S.F. Chronicle on Google

These efforts have helped earn Fenn a reputation as “the utility industry’s Enemy No. 1.”

Yet even Fenn admits his brainchild has problems, exemplified by the recent turmoil engulfing MCE, California’s first CCA, which provides electricity to 1.8 million people and businesses in Marin and........

© San Francisco Chronicle