June 2010 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
WHAT’S NEW AS OF JUNE 2010? Note from the Editor Time-of-Use vs. Flat Rate: A Battle of Numbers The sun is heating things up in my home state of North Carolina and, as the proud new owner of a solar hot water system, I welcome those rays. The beginning of summer is also a…
WHAT’S NEW AS OF JUNE 2010?
Note from the Editor
Time-of-Use vs. Flat Rate: A Battle of Numbers
The sun is heating things up in my home state of North Carolina and, as the proud new owner of a solar hot water system, I welcome those rays. The beginning of summer is also a great time for a financial case study on net metering, as promised in our last newsletter. In my column last month I mentioned the importance of rate choice under utility net-metering programs, as rate design can have a big effect on the payback of a PV system.
Our goal then, was to compare a typical year’s payback for a PV system on a flat rate versus one on a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate. I must begin by saying that most of the credit for this month’s study goes to Keith McAllister, my colleague here at the NC Solar Center, who ran the numbers for us. We chose to look at a North Carolina utility net metering program, not out of state partisanship, but rather because we are more familiar with these tariffs than those in other states. For our experiment, we used the following tariffs available from Progress Energy Carolinas: RES-15 (Residential Flat Rate), R-TOUD-15 (Residential Time of Use Rate) and NM-4 (Net Metering Rider). [Continued in Newsletter]
State News in Detail
Northeast States
Connecticut continues to mull over meter aggregation
Correction on Massachusetts interconnection
Vermont increases net metering cap for military facilities
Mid-Atlantic States
New Jersey recognized for regulatory innovation on solar RECs
Midwestern States
Four years later, Iowa adopts Illinois-style interconnection rules
Southern States
Florida PSC cites favorable net metering as a reason for increased renewable activity
Oklahoma enacts renewable energy goal of 15% by 2015
Western States
Safford, Arizona approves net metering
California suspends new rules on tradable RECs
Colorado joins the community net metering club
Idaho’s Avista Power asking PUC for an increase in the net metering cap
Oregon PUC issues final rules for a pilot FIT (a.k.a super net metering)
Upcoming Events
IREC News
State-by-State tables pair up with DSIRE
Miscellaneous News
NREL study finds more renewable energy integration possible in the West
AWEA Study sees growth in the U.S. small wind market
NARUC summer meetings to focus on renewable energy
Download the full newsletter as a PDF: June 2010 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
