another hiccup to going solar?

[Eagle1]

Not really low voltage can not be transmitted without step-up to line voltage 11KV or more. Step up takes power. The stuff from 100 miles away comes on High Voltage lines well above line voltage and is easier to scale and distribute. Plus it is 3 phase - unlikely you create 3 phase from your solar.

 

[Roric]

Are your utilities publicly held? Our water is a municipal utility. Power is privately held.

You are correct and I wasn't careful with my phrasing.
More accurately, our electric is a privately held ( with shareholders) publicly regulated utility.

regards,

R

 

[bnold]

With my coop, energy fee is billed separate from the transmission. I am returned the same value for the energy produced with solar as I purchase it through the coop for.

Ultimately the coop doesn’t product power, they just purchase it from the wholesaler (Brazos).

So they purchase the power from me or Brazos at the same rate. Seems pretty fair and legit to me.

 

[orezok]

Not really low voltage can not be transmitted without step-up to line voltage 11KV or more. Step up takes power. The stuff from 100 miles away comes on High Voltage lines well above line voltage and is easier to scale and distribute. Plus it is 3 phase - unlikely you create 3 phase from your solar.

My solar generated power flows backward through my transformer elevating it to 15KV.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

This can be twisted any number of ways. As I mentioned above, our co-op buys power from over 100 miles away. There has to be some cost involved in that process. Locally produced solar is ... well, local. Not distant, so there must be some savings. Somehow.

There is never any savings in electricity cost if you are using Solar or Wind. Both are not cost effective, that's why there are tax break incentives (subsidies) with both.

I'm off grid solar and it is not the cheapest way to get power. But it is less expensive than running a diesel generator.
Batteries are the most expensive part of an off grid solar electric system. Which is the biggest reason people want to have grid-tied systems. Making the utility be thier battery.

 

[4570Man]

Can't let you think you can be independent of "them" and make your own power.

Nobody is stopping you from being independent. Your alternative options are either very expensive or very inconvenient but you can go disconnect your meter tomorrow and use your own electricity.

 

[dougtrr2]

Paying solar user wholesale price for what they produce isn't quite right either. Why should they be paid the same price when they can't be depended on to produce? Think of yourself as a purchasing agent. You have two suppliers. One consistently provides what you need when you need it. The other shows up at random times to sell you his product whether you need it or not. Would you pay them both the same?

Doug in SW IA

 

[Eagle1]

As business owner how long can you use a supplier that is not reliable?

 

[LD1]

Paying solar user wholesale price for what they produce isn't quite right either. Why should they be paid the same price when they can't be depended on to produce? Think of yourself as a purchasing agent. You have two suppliers. One consistently provides what you need when you need it. The other shows up at random times to sell you his product whether you need it or not. Would you pay them both the same?

Doug in SW IA

Sorta what I was eluding to in post 30 but you worded it well.

Solar customers have been spoiled over the last 10 years and getting a $0 bill if they make as much as they use. OR even getting paid if they make surplus....and paid at a rate that includes distribution and meter/service charges even though solar users have no distribution network.

Its sad that they are up-in-arms about this change to a business model that actually makes sense. Just blows my mind the mindset of some of these people wanting something for nothing.

 

[Diggin It]

I see it as an incentive to get more solar and wind production in the system. 100 homes with a few panels won't contribute much. 100,000 homes with a few panels will contribute more. 1,000,000 homes and small businesses with panels will be better.

But as noted by a few posters above, the return on investment isn't there for most homeowners and small companies. It costs too much to get in, especially with storage capacity and you don't get enough back to justify the expense.

People complain about farmland, open fields and even wide open desert being converted to solar farms. The plan needs to encourage panels in urban areas, on roof tops of stores and shopping centers, covers over parking lots and in some cases roadways.

But one of the big blocks is that the utility providers don't want to give up their legacy methods as it might cut into their stock options.

Our 'non-profit' co-op just built a huge new office building in an area that is very inconvenient for many customer to get to. I have no idea what that cost them (us), but it wasn't necessary to produce power and our rates have gone up since. And I know the CEO salary hasn't gone down to help us in keeping rates stable.