...Even as
installation costs continue to fall, the growth of distributed solar is
threatened by other financial and technical barriers. Typical net
metering rate structures can make it impossible for electricity
providers to recover their costs in markets with a large penetration of
rooftop solar.
Solar panels can be prohibitively expensive to
purchase. Even solar leasing companies such as SolarCity require a FICO credit score of at least 650, which excludes
about 32 percent of U.S. population. Additionally, large amounts of
rooftop solar make it difficult for utilities to maintain the stability
of the local grid.
CPS Energy, the municipal utility of San Antonio, Texas, is
pioneering a rooftop solar project that could overcome these barriers.
The project, called SolarHost,
allows any homeowner in the utility’s territory to apply for free solar
panel installation. CPS Energy buys, installs, maintains, and insures
the solar panels, and in return the customer leases their rooftop to the
utility in exchange for a discounted electricity rate (saving
3 cents for each kilowatt-hour generated by the hosted panels, or about
$20 per month on average).... Since SolarHost was announced in October 2015, CPS Energy has
already filled its pilot program, receiving enough applications to accommodate over 150 megawatts.... Credit: Photograph by Michael Coghlan/Flickr under Creative Commons license
Commonly, electric utilities operate with a mismatch between
fixed and variable costs versus fixed and variable revenues. Policies
that reduce electricity sales, such as net-metering, can prevent a
utility from recovering its costs, which are largely fixed..
[Generally] municipal utilities rely on variable revenues (think
electricity sales) to recover fixed costs (... infrastructure).... Policies such as net-metering [can eat]
into the cost recovery for the assets.... Lower-income homeowners can easily participate in
SolarHost.... Homeowners don’t have to worry about all of the liabilities and
upkeep associated with operating and maintaining their solar panels —
since CPS Energy owns the panels....
SolarHost also provides CPS Energy with an ... opportunity to
address solar-induced grid instabilities. Utilities must keep the
distribution voltage near 120 volts to provide reliable power to their
customers. However, conventional grids were not designed with solar in
mind, and some solar generation characteristics, such as intermittent
output and safety-triggered circuit trips, exacerbate voltage
instability.
Solar inverters provide an interface between the electricity
generated by solar panels and the electricity used by your home and on
the grid. These inverters can be controlled in a way which reduces grid
instability, especially if they are[ coordinated] with other inverters....This type of coordination is problematic in a
typical distribution grid where each inverter and solar array has a
unique, independent owner. With the SolarHost program, however, CPS
Energy will own thousands of smart inverters across its grid and could
easily control them....
Control of smart inverters
might allow CPS Energy to earn additional revenue by providing fast frequency response services to the system operator.
Scientific American www.ScientificAmerican.comJune 8, 2016 According to a December 10, 2015 article at http://therivardreport.com/happy-southsider-is-first-solar-host-in-free-cps-energy-program/ SolarHostSA had received more than 4,000 applications since it started accepting them in September.... The pilot program ... plans to install 10 megawatts (MW) of solar rooftop
solar panels in San Antonio by the end of 2016.... that
will mean about 850 residential and 50 commercial roofs [Renewable Republic was wrapping up the residential installation of the 32-panel, 8.32 kw array on Thursday at the home of Myra] Garcia will receive a $40-50 monthly discount on
her CPS Energy bill, more than the average program participant should
expect to receive because Garcia’s array is larger than the average 4kw,
16-panel installation.... Garcia was concerned about the contract length and liability. The panels stay with the house in the unlikely event Garcia decides to move. The system adds value to the house. Garcia’s only liability is having to pay labor costs if she ever wants the system removed.... Iris Dimmick "Happy Southsider is First ‘Solar Host’ in San Antonio" The Rivard Report http://therivardreport.comhttp://therivardreport.com/happy-southsider-is-first-solar-host-in-free-cps-energy-program/
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