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California NEM 3.0 New Design Advice Needed

mrjohnnycake

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Dec 22, 2021
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I am planning on installing a 12kW grid tied solar with storage system (that's how much my roof will hold) in 2022 but now that I'm getting closer I'm looking into California's proposed Net Energy Metering changes and they are rather absurd.

I was already going to add storage but now I'm wondering if I should rethink the system design to not export to the grid and just use the grid to charge my batteries as needed. I was looking at the Sol-Ark because of it's hybrid abilities but now I'm questioning if spending that much is necessary considering the new rule changes.

Of course I could also just bust my butt and try to get it installed prior to the new 3.0 implementation.

Any advice would be very welcome.
 
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Have you seen this discussion?

 
I am planning on installing a 12kW grid tied solar with storage system (that's how much my roof will hold) in 2022 but now that I'm getting closer I'm looking into California's proposed Net Energy Metering changes and they are rather absurd.

I was already going to add storage but now I'm wondering if I should rethink the system design to not export to the grid and just use the grid to charge my batteries as needed. I was looking at the Sol-Ark because of it's hybrid abilities but now I'm questioning if spending that much is necessary considering the new rule changes.

Of course I could also just busy my butt and get try to get it installed prior to the new 3.0 implementation.

Any advice would be very welcome.
Getting hooked up and running before the successor tariff goes into effect (expected for July ‘23 but likely to be delayed) is probably your best bet. That gives you the possibility to convert to the ST as a ‘new’ customer and take advantage of the discounts and battery incentives they are offering in the first year to new solar customers only (if/when you find them attractive),

If you have no choice but to get your system authorized under the ST, yes, you’ll need a battery sized to capture the smaller of a full day’s consumption or a full day’s generation, since the ST is no longer NEM.

NEM offered a huge benefit of sizing a solar system to offset annual consumption, generating credit throughout high-productivity summers to offset consumption during poor-production winters.

Since the ST bills for net consumption on a monthly basis rather than yearly, it is no longer net metering and bills based on monthly meter readings (with no credit given if the meter has run backwards after a month),

So no way to offset full-year consumption unless you invest in a huge solar array sufficient to generate enough energy to offset monthly consumption through the months of December and January )which means you’ll be wasting ~60% of what you produce in summer months…).
 
I've seen this news on impending California changes, but as I've said in other threads, nationwide the power companies are doing all they can to discourage "grid-tie" that's why I went the Sol-Ark and set it up for "Zero-Export" which it does well.
 
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