February 2011 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
WHAT’S NEW AS OF FEBRUARY 2011? Note from the Editor If you’re like me, you like cake. And if so, you’ve probably also shared my frustration when you show up to a party and a few guests have eaten all the cake, leaving only a few sad crumbs behind. This issue of equality of…
WHAT’S NEW AS OF FEBRUARY 2011?
Note from the Editor
If you’re like me, you like cake. And if so, you’ve probably also shared my frustration when you show up to a party and a few guests have eaten all the cake, leaving only a few sad crumbs behind. This issue of equality of access applies not only to dessert, but also to the renewable energy industry, and to net metering in particular. One of the merits of a well-designed net metering policy is that it is available to everyone. However, challenges can arise when the participation of a few net metering customers crowds out others who want a piece of the distributed generation action (cake?).
Over the past few years, we have seen a definite trend of states increasing or eliminating their system size caps for net metering. If these limits don’t also correspond to an increase in aggregate participation caps, it can mean that a few large projects can potentially consume a state’s net metering allocation. Hawaii has taken proactive measures to mitigate this potential problem by allocating a percentage of the participation cap to smaller systems. Each utility has a slightly different allocation, but generally 40-50% of their aggregate caps are dedicated to systems sized 10 kW and smaller. [Continued in Newsletter]
State News in Detail
Northeast States
New York’s ConEdison customers double solar capacity
Massachusetts DPU announces net metering eligibility hearing
Mid-Atlantic States
D.C.’s Mount Pleasant Solar Co-op challenges Pepco’s handling of net metering
Midwestern States
Indiana IURC reschedules net metering hearing
Southern States
Mississippi opens the door for net metering
Unearthed in Florida: Meter Aggregation! Also, GRU FIT applicants selected
Western States
California’s SCE expands community solar options for customers; continues work on state feed-in tariff
Idaho PUC limits the size of wind and solar projects
Oregon PUC to discuss meter aggregation changes
Other States
Alaska RCA invites comments on interconnection
Hawaii sees unprecedented solar growth
Upcoming Events
IREC News
IREC’s round table round up
Miscellaneous News
DOE announces the release of two community solar guides
FERC reviews mandatory QF purchases
White House establishes renewables export initiative
Download the full newsletter as a PDF: February 2011 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
FORMAT
While customer-sited net metering and interconnection policies are primarily addressed at the state level, they are also becoming important on a regional basis. This newsletter has been designed to provide state-level policy updates and capture emerging regional trends. Connecting to the Grid is a free, electronic newsletter published each month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) and the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University. Click here to subscribe.
Editor: Laurel Varnado
NC Solar Center, NC State University
