Solar Value

[Randolph Kinney]

SDG&E

NEM Rates
For homeowners, the bill credits you earn and the electricity that you consume, (that is not covered by bill credits,) are based on the electric or billing rate you select when you join the program. You can opt for the NEM billing rate or elect to stay with your residential rate. Click below to do a self-analysis of your regular energy usage to select the rate that's right for you.

Learn more

Rates
SDG&E rates and rate design, including the rates and rate design reflected in this Tariff, are subject to change in conjunction with changes to the utility revenue requirement and changes to the utility rate design.

Your NEM Bill
Now that you're self-generating part of your power, you're probably wondering how you'll be billed. You should expect to receive two bills from SDG&E; one for natural gas usage (if you use natural gas) and one for electricity. Click below for the specifics.

More information regarding your bill

NEM Cap
There is a state-mandated cap on Net Energy Metering. Click below for the formula for current percent of cap and the current calculation.

http://www.sdge.com/clean-energy/overview/overview

NEM Rates
Last Updated 08/11/2015

You can opt for the Net Energy Metering - NEM billing rate DR-SES or stay with your existing residential DR rate. Understanding your generation and energy usage will help you make an informed rate choice.

To make an informed decision about which rate is right for you, try this self-analysis of your energy usage:

• Read the netted “10” display on your electric meter at 11 a.m., then again at 6 p.m.
• Subtract the first reading from the second reading
• The end result will show a positive number (how much energy you use) or a negative number (the excess energy sent back to the grid).
  More information regarding reading your smart net-energy meter
  

If your energy use is less than your energy generation during summer on-peak DR-SES hours (11 am – 6 pm weekdays), the NEM DR-SES billing rate could help lower your annual electricity costs. Under the DR-SES rate there is no on-peak during the winter period.

Weighing the Financial Benefits
The price of energy is much higher during summer on-peak hours, when your system typically produces the most electricity. This means that every excess kilowatt-hour your system generates is credited to your account at the higher rate during the summer on-peak period. The higher credits you receive can offset the cost of electricity during times when you may need electricity from the grid, such as in the evening when the system is not producing energy.

If you use more on-peak electricity than your system produces, you’ll be charged the higher rate for the energy you use. It’s possible your bill could end up being higher than it would have been under the standard residential rate.

• September 1, 2015 this charge is $0.33 per day, or about $120 per year. The 2015/2016 year is prorated according to how many days are before and after September 1 regardless of which residential rate you choose. CARE, FERA and medical baseline customers receive a 50% discount on the minimum charge.
  
  
• If one of these provisions applies to you, please call our Customer Contact center at 1-800-411-SDGE (7343) and ask to speak to a Net Metering or Solar Specialist.

http://www.sdge.com/clean-energy/overview/overview-nem-rates

Uh-Oh! Net metering charges could be higher than regular charge. Everything is subject to change, no guarantees.

 

[George Hatch]

I wonder if this thread is going to run 10 more years and 1600 more pages like the Housing Bubble thread?

 

[Meandering]

Naw,

Only as long as net metering exists.

CARE, FERA and medical baseline customers receive a 50% discount on the minimum charge.

Stab yourself in the chest and get 1/2 off. Cheaper than solar panels and gives you a better conversation piece.

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[Randolph Kinney]

Anytime the state or PUC changes the incentives for solar PV panels, yeah, I intend to post it here.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Right. What they don’t mention is that while you might save 70% on your electric bill, you’ll probably pay close to that (with some smaller savings left) to pay for the solar panels that company installed. You’ll swap one payment for another, but you surely won’t get the full 70% in savings.

‘Caveat Emptor’ – let the buyer beware.

 

[Meandering]

PUC votes to keep net metering policies in place through end of 2015

In his order, commissioner David Noble suggested the PUC needs more time to vet new price structures before it takes action. The commission has a December deadline for coming up with a permanent net metering structure.

NV Energy’s proposed plan would reduce the value of credits paid to consumers and add a new fees. In filings with the PUC, the company said that the current structure unfairly shifts costs to customers without solar. The rooftop solar industry expects that the utility-backed proposal would reduce the rate of adoption of solar power.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/aug/26/puc-votes-keep-net-metering-policies-place-through/

So much for capitalizing savings over the life of the loan.

Jump right in, the Kool Aid is great!


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[Randolph Kinney]

New Hampshire's Solar Incentive Getting a Bit Less Generous

If you want to install solar panels at your home, it’s about to get a little more expensive. A reduction in the state’s renewable energy rebate goes into effect Thursday. The previous rebate was $.75 per watt, maxing out at $3,750, whereas the new one will be $.50 a watt, with a maximum of $2,500.

This is not the first time the rebates have been reduced. When the program was first introduced in 2009 the maximum rebate was $6,000 dollars. It fell in 2010 $4,500 and again in 2012 to $3,750.

The change comes as an even greater hurdle for the solar industry appears to be approaching: the number of installations is bumping up against a cap on the amount of “net-metered” renewable energy facilities the state can have. This cap exists for all utilities except the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, whose board voted to eliminate it earlier this year.

http://nhpr.org/post/new-hampshires-solar-incentive-getting-bit-less-generous

 

[Meandering]

Right. What they don’t mention is that while you might save 70% on your electric bill, you’ll probably pay close to that (with some smaller savings left) to pay for the solar panels that company installed. You’ll swap one payment for another, but you surely won’t get the full 70% in savings.

‘Caveat Emptor’ – let the buyer beware.

Don't forget higher RE taxes,
higher income taxes on the savings,
higher homeowner's insurance - that one will be great with non-owned or leased attached equipment.
Yup,
Save your way to being rich.

Here is a clothes line,
save some money, save the planet, cut down on your electric bill.

Just think,
Going naked is going green!

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[Randolph Kinney]

Just think,
Going naked is going green!

 

[Meandering]

The previous rebate was $.75 per watt, maxing out at $3,750, whereas the new one will be $.50 a watt, with a maximum of $2,500.

Wait a darned minute here.

Wasn't the sales pitch to pay interest on the loan, made that, when rates go up, the solar panel generated savings would also go up?

Are you now saying that not only will solar panel savings not keep up with rising rates, but they are going to go down while rates are going up?

Uhmm

Bet that DCF looks really pretty now. decreased savings in $ over the life of the panels, decreased output over the life of the panels.

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