Note from the Editor - You can have your (net metering) cake and eat it too If you're like me, you like cake. And if so, you've probably also shared my frustration when you show up to a party and a few guests have eaten all the cake, leaving only a few sad crumbs behind. This issue of equality of access applies not only to dessert, but also to the renewable energy industry, and to net metering in particular. One of the merits of a well-designed net metering policy is that it is available to everyone. However, challenges can arise when the participation of a few net metering customers crowds out others who want a piece of the distributed generation action (cake?). Over the past few years, we have seen a definite trend of states increasing or eliminating their system size caps for net metering. If these limits don't also correspond to an increase in aggregate participation caps, it can mean that a few large projects can potentially consume a state's net metering allocation. Hawaii has taken proactive measures to mitigate this potential problem by allocating a percentage of the participation cap to smaller systems. Each utility has a slightly different allocation, but generally 40-50% of their aggregate caps are dedicated to systems sized 10 kW and smaller. [Continued in Newsletter] |
State News in Detail Northeast States New York's ConEdison customers double solar capacity Massachusetts DPU announces net metering eligibility hearing Mid-Atlantic States D.C.'s Mount Pleasant Solar Co-op challenges Pepco's handling of net metering Midwestern States Indiana IURC reschedules net metering hearing Southern States Mississippi opens the door for net metering Unearthed in Florida: Meter Aggregation! Also, GRU FIT applicants selected Western States California's SCE expands community solar options for customers; continues work on state feed-in tariff Idaho PUC limits the size of wind and solar project Oregon PUC to discuss meter aggregation changes Other States Alaska RCA invites comments on interconnection Hawaii sees unprecedented solar growth |
| IREC and Miscellaneous News IREC's round table round up DOE announces the release of two community solar guides FERC reviews mandatory QF purchases White House establishes renewables export initiative |
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