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SolarCity Corp. plans to eliminate more than 550 jobs in Nevada, most of its employees in the state, after regulators approved new utility fees on solar rooftops.

The biggest U.S. rooftop solar provider will relocate some employees to "business-friendly" states that don't impose similar charges, San Mateo, California-based SolarCity said in a statement Wednesday.

This is the first significant cut in staffing for SolarCity, which has grown rapidly in recent years. Surging demand for rooftop power has led to friction between companies that install and operate the systems and traditional utilities, which see them as a threat to revenue.

SolarCity announced plans to stop sales and installation in Nevada on Dec. 23, a day after regulators approved changes to the state's net-metering program, one of the main incentives for rooftop solar power. The company, which counts billionaire Elon Musk as its chairman and largest shareholder, has said the fees make solar power less attractive to consumers and will drive down demand.

As of Jan. 1, homes and offices that generate solar power are paying a higher monthly service fee and are receiving a smaller credit on their bills for electricity they feed to the local grid. Utilities have argued that the changes are needed to offset the loss of revenue as more customers produce their own energy.

NV Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. that owns Nevada's two biggest utilities, had sought the changes to recoup money that it says solar customers aren't paying for grid operations. The company's monthly fee for solar customers has jumped 40 percent to $17.90.

The job cuts represent "most" of the company's Nevada employees, Chandler Sherman, a spokeswoman for SolarCity, said in an interview. "We will keep some staff in the state to service existing customers." The company has more than 10,000 employees, up from about 4,300 at the end of 2013.

SolarCity on Tuesday closed a training facility it opened in November because "there won't be any jobs to train people for," Sherman said.