Public Power - July/August 2008 - (Page 30)

Sacramento’s Solar Shares customers who are interested in photovotaic systems, but cannot install them at their own homes or businesses. The utility has awarded a contract for construction of a new, 1-MW solar array from which it will purchase and resell output at a discount to program partici- to reflect the buy-down incentive SMUD offers for PV system purchases, but not the federal investment tax credit, since SMUD has no control over that. The other line item is a credit that will vary from month to month, depending on each customer’s “solar profile;” it “Last year, SMUD introduced the SolarSmart New Homes program. It is already “the number one solar new construction program in the nation,” Bertolino said. pants. “This means any SMUD customer, including renters or occupants of multi-unit buildings, can be a solar energy owner regardless of where they live and without committing thousands of dollars to buy their own PV panels.” SolarShares participants will be treated as “virtual” net metering customers. All solar customers net meter. Under the new program, customer bills will have two line items. The first is a fixed fee for the right to the energy determined by a customer’s energy usage and ranges between $5 and $30 per month. The fixed fee will be discounted is discounted compared to what SMUD will pay for output from the plant. Participants will get credit for the energy attributed to them, minus what is returned to them at night when the sun is not up. Bertolino said it is rare for solar net metering customers to have an excess at the annual true-up, but when they do, they are paid the retail rate for their class. The only exception is industrial customers, who do not get the payment since net metering is meant to offset customer needs, not to pay for solar farming. Last year, SMUD introduced the SolarSmart New Homes program. It is already “the number one solar new construction program in the nation,” Bertolino said. It aggressively combines a range of energy efficiency measures with a 2-kW solar system built directly into new houses. SMUD offers developers an incentive to buy down about $6,000 of the cost of the package. Customers can reduce their electric bills by up to 60 percent. Several hundred SolarSmart houses have been built and commitments are on the books for another 4,000 houses, representing about 8 MW. Under the $3.3 billion California Solar Initiative, which is separate from the state’s 20 percent by 2020 renewable portfolio standard, each utility creates its own fund by adding a surcharge for every kWh it sells. SMUD will use part of what it collects to pay for the SolarPUBLIC POWER 30 JULY-AUGUST 2008 http://www.assocsys.com http://www.phase-a-matic.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - July/August 2008

Public Power- July/August 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Solar Energy Rising Sacramento's Solar Shares Gainesville Crowns a Conservation Idol By the Numbers Curbing Costs of Outages Reliability Green Energy Hometown Connections Customer Service Parting Shot

Public Power - July/August 2008

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