UTILITY-OWNED HARDWARE COULD CUT SOLAR COSTS

Unlike fossil fuels, which no matter how plentiful are ultimately finite, the earth is saturated in bountiful sunlight beyond normal imagination’s capacity to quantify or conceive of the end to. Logical conclusion: Solar energy is the power supply of the future. Bonus: It can be produced domestically, without national security implications and generates no climate change-inducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The only obstacle is cost. Until the photovoltaic cells and other materials that turn sunlight into electricity get cheaper, most business and home owners will postpone solar installations for one very simple reason: When they throw the switch, the lights come on. Why pay the utility bill ten years in advance?

The solar industry is always looking for ways to make financing a solar system friendlier. One excellent idea, in which the city bears the burden of financing and collects from the building/home owner via property taxes, is presently being developed in Berkeley, CA. (See BERKELEY BREAKTHROUGH SOLAR FINANCE PLAN PASSES)

Below is another good idea. A Washington state utility engineer suggests the utility be responsible for the inverter and meter, the biggest pieces of hardware besides the photovoltaic panels. (The inverter turns direct current made by the panels into alternating current to run appliances and devices.) In conjunction with a graduated rate benefit to incentivize early uptake, the idea may just be one whose time is now.

From White's presentation. (click to enlarge)

Utility ownership of the inverter – Why it makes sense
Jim White, January 10, 2008 (Solar Electric Power Association conference call series)

WHO
Jim White, Senior Energy Services Engineer, Chelan County Public Utility District; Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA)

From White's presentation. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
As part of the SEPA-sponsored conference call series, White presented “Utility ownership of the inverter – Why it makes sense.” White’s basic idea is to reduce the burden of solar system cost on the consumer by making the utility responsible for ownership and installation of the inverter, the central piece of electrical hardware. As White adds, this would shift the choice of inverter and metering equipment from the “least first-cost” hardware to the “least life-cycle cost” hardware.

WHEN
The January 10 conference call presentation was part of the 2008 SEPA Conference Call Series. The next presentation, (“PV Installations in Germany – Same Technology, Lower Costs” by Barry Cinnamon of Akeena Solar) will be February 12.

WHERE
- White works for Chelan County Public Utilites District in northwestern Washington state with offices in Wenatchee, Chelan and Leavenworth, Washington.
- SEPA is one of the 2 distinguished national advocacy organizations of the solar energy industry.

From White's presentation. (click to enlarge)

WHY
- The utility ownership of the inverter makes metering, net metering and smart metering easier.
- A monthly charge to the customer would pay the utility for the hardware it buys.
- The utility ownership of the inverter would improve the system’s reliability, simplify interconnection, decrease upfront customer costs, fit in with cost and incentives concerns for the utility and allow the utility to operate the solar system better.
- Some difficulty remains to be resolved concerning the Renewable Energy Credits associated with solar system installations. Significantly affecting the cost, the credits could go either to the homeowner or utility.
- Utility involvement in hardware ownership and installation makes permitting and inspection much easier.
- Having the utility involved with a solar system at the level of the inverter adds to the utility’s ability to do remote metering and to deal with power fluctuations and outages.
- The bottom line is that the plan makes photovoltaic electricity more accessible.

From White's presentation. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Bill Ball, chairman, Arkansas Renewable Energy Association (laughingly): “I’m thinking of the 2nd Amendment and the right to own and bear inverters…If the incentives are available to utilities and business and homeowners alike then it seems like more use of solar no matter who owns the equipment would be the logical conclusion…I am aware of some states that have both paradigms…”
- Jim White: “I don’t have all the solutions, these are just some ideas…If there’s deal killers out there in this idea, let’s them out there, let’s talk them up and see if we can’t find some solutions…”