Jan. 1, 2008: States Falling Short on Interconnection of Customer-Owned Power Systems
NEW YORK - A new report concludes that all 50 states are failing
to provide easy access to the electrical grid for home-grown renewable energy
systems, while only four states are doing their best to ensure that the owners
of such systems earn credit for power fed into the grid. Regarding
“interconnection,” or the connection of customer-owned power systems to the
grid, many states set an arbitrary maximum size of the system that can be
connected to the grid, or they set a cap on the total combined capacity of the
systems connected to the grid. In many states, utility customers must pay high
fees for interconnection, while also having to meet unreasonable requirements
for safety features, liability insurance, and approval paperwork, says the
report. Regarding “net metering,” which provides a utility bill credit for
customers who feed power into the grid, some states allow utilities to credit the
power at a rate that’s lower than the retail rate, to limit the amount of
credit earned, or to limit the credit that can be carried over from month to
month. Net metering often excludes commercial and industrial partners and
sometimes requires the installation of an extra meter. And of course, many
states don’t have a policy for interconnection or net metering at all.
The new report, “Freeing the Grid,” is an update of a 2006 report and is prepared by the Network for New Energy Choices, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), the Vote Solar Initiative, and the Solar Alliance. The report finds that as of September 2007, only 34 states and the District of Columbia had interconnection policies, and of those, eight states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. New Jersey and Arizona have the best interconnection policies, both earning a “B” from the report’s authors. Likewise, only 38 states and the District of Columbia had net metering policies, and of those, four states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. Five states - California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - earned an “A” for their net metering policies. The report includes IREC’s model interconnection standards and net metering rules, which set a gold standard against which the state standards and rules were compared.
The report is available on the Network for New Energy Choices Website at www.newenergychoices.org/uploads/FreeingTheGrid2007_report.pdf.
Publication date: 01/01/2008
The new report, “Freeing the Grid,” is an update of a 2006 report and is prepared by the Network for New Energy Choices, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), the Vote Solar Initiative, and the Solar Alliance. The report finds that as of September 2007, only 34 states and the District of Columbia had interconnection policies, and of those, eight states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. New Jersey and Arizona have the best interconnection policies, both earning a “B” from the report’s authors. Likewise, only 38 states and the District of Columbia had net metering policies, and of those, four states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. Five states - California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - earned an “A” for their net metering policies. The report includes IREC’s model interconnection standards and net metering rules, which set a gold standard against which the state standards and rules were compared.
The report is available on the Network for New Energy Choices Website at www.newenergychoices.org/uploads/FreeingTheGrid2007_report.pdf.
Publication date: 01/01/2008
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
