Californian Public Utilities Commission slashes solar buyback prices.

[camelCase]

California pulls the plug on rooftop solar

The Public Utilities Commission approved Net Energy Metering 3.0, slashing payments for sending rooftop solar production to the grid. New rooftop solar projects are now considered uneconomical without an attached battery.

pv-magazine-usa.com

Looks like California wants to encourage home owners to install a lot of batteries since they don't want to pay for any excess power home owners produce.

 

[Rednecktek]

Saw that one coming. Don't they require grid tie on all new house builds too?

 

[BentleyJ]

Saw that one coming. Don't they require grid tie on all new house builds too?

Ya, its a State wide building code, took effect in 2020. It's being amended so some commercial and residential buildings must now have solar and batteries. Takes effect Jan 1, 2023.

 

[Casteil]

Saw that one coming. Don't they require grid tie on all new house builds too?

Ya, its a State wide building code, took effect in 2020. It's being amended so some commercial and residential buildings must now have solar and batteries. Takes effect Jan 1, 2023.

Oof. Talk about Exhibit A for well-intentioned initiatives getting twisted/hamstrung for profit by corporate interests

 

[pollenface]

Where i live (in oz) we get 2.5c/kwh feed in.

 

[45North]

Huh? How can they mandate you must install PV panels and then drastically reduce their payments for the power?
And I thought I lived in a nanny state, LOL.

 

[Leeds]

Looks like California wants to encourage home owners to install a lot of batteries since they don't want to pay for any excess power home owners produce.

Are you saying you think this will force everyone who produces more than they consume to go entirely off grid?

 

[45North]

Is the state gov overreaching here?
First you must use  your money to buy PV panels for all new construction and now you need to use  your money to buy batteries as well?
How can they do that?

 

[BentleyJ]

Is the state gov overreaching here?
First you must use  your money to buy PV panels for all new construction and now you need to use  your money to buy batteries as well?
How can they do that?

Same way they forced health insurance on all of us. Simply ignore the constitution and legal precedent. Wait a little while and discover there are no consequences. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Casteil]

Where i live (in oz) we get 2.5c/kwh feed in.

How much do you pay for incoming power?

From what I've looked into, my power company still pays retail rate for net excess solar generation here (8-11c/kWh), but we typically pay about 18-21c/kWh after all the usage-based fees they tack on. That part is OK.

Problem is, they have the power to cap your array size based on your previous 12 months of consumption. Also, your 'net generation credit' is only good for a year, and you can never get it back out of the system as cash. Grid-tied is pretty unappealing when your power company can make it so you still have to pay them no matter what (yes, I realize there are flat fees, but my initial hope was that excess generation would cover that).

 

[camelCase]

Are you saying you think this will force everyone who produces more than they consume to go entirely off grid?

No, I'm just thinking that the math will pencil out for a lot of homeowners to buy batteries and keep the power they generate instead selling it back to the utility at less than a third of what they were getting for their excess power.

 

[pollenface]

How much do you pay for incoming power?

30.0506c/kwh

 

[Casteil]

30.0506c/kwh

Ouch! That's an awful ratio

 

[curiouscarbon]

grid tie is undesirable if grid outage results in power interruption.

 

[Ahjwinth]

Well wait until you live in Netherlands, due to the whole Ukraine/russia situation we pay on 1 jan 2023 96 cent/kWh. And feed in rate is 16 cent/kWH. Per 2025 we can not subtract the feed in of power from the consumed power over the year so a battery becomes attractive.

 

[ncsolarelectric]

grid tie is undesirable if grid outage results in power interruption.

Why? You can't live without electricity for an hour or two? My goal is saving money and a fast ROI, not emergency backup.

 

[SeaGal]

Well wait until you live in Netherlands, due to the whole Ukraine/russia situation we pay on 1 jan 2023 96 cent/kWh. And feed in rate is 16 cent/kWH. Per 2025 we can not subtract the feed in of power from the consumed power over the year so a battery becomes attractive.

Attractive? Essential, more like ? ? ??

 

[ncsolarelectric]

What they did in CA is what it has been like in the Electric Coops of NC. I get a wholesale rate of 4.6 cents/kWh for energy exported. Or I can opt to get 1:1 and pay a monthly fee/kW that amounts to a little over 40% of the value of the energy. Ends up a wash either way, they get 40% discount for my energy.

 

[FB911]

Did I read an article incorrectly where they seem to say solar power producers W/ batteries will continue to get the old rate?
The rate slash was for those who don't store energy....no?

 

[Kapow_Network]

No, I'm just thinking that the math will pencil out for a lot of homeowners to buy batteries and keep the power they generate instead selling it back to the utility at less than a third of what they were getting for their excess power.

Yes, as battery tech improves and prices drop it will. It may also help reduce need to repeatedly investigate PG&E's wire-fires / wild fires.