[XCSSA] Cheaper solar power heads mainstream

[xcssa@xcssa.org]

This is not meant to be a flame, but I just wanted to post some
thoughts from the other side of the argument.  I have family members
and a lot of friends who work in the electric production and
distribution industries so I've heard some heated discussion from both
sides of this arguement.

On 24 May 2007 02:45:58 -0500, xcssa-admin@xcssa.org
<xcssa-admin@xcssa.org> wrote:
>  1) They require a very expensive switch system that shuts off your outgoing
> power to the grid when there are line problems.

You really want one of these.  If you've sized your solar system
properly you won't have a lot of surplus to sell.  Certainly not
enough surplus to power even just one neighbor, let alone the whole
neighborhood.  Failing to shutdown nicely would most likely over
current your invertors and blow fuses or breakers if you're lucky.

>  2) They require a insurance bond against problems caused by YOUR power
> generation & connection to THEIR grid.  Last time I heard this discussed --
> it was a $1M or $1.5M bond.  Not so logical unless you're worried about the
> dam lawyers!!

A cost, but not that bad.  Think of it as insurance.  You might be
able to get by with a cheaper umbrella insurance policy though.  Much
like a backhoe operator, you have the potential to cause a service
interuption.  It's a costly thing and you really want the insrance to
cover your butt.  Yes, most backhoe operators are required to have
umbrella insurance policies for $1M or more (regulations vary by state
and I'm not familiar with the laws in TX).

>  3) They require an expensive power meter replacement at your house -- one
> that can run backward to not only track your usage from their grid, but also
> your output to the grid.  Again, logical -- but expensive.

Another item you want.  If you want to sell power to them, then you
need a meter that can measue what you sell.

>  4) They will NOT pay you the same as you pay them for each kilowatt of
> electricity.  Last I heard -- while you pay >$.07 per kilowatt, CPS will
> only pay you about $.03 or less for electricity you generate and provide to
> their grid.

That also seems fair to me.  Why should they pay you more than they
pay anyone else?  Remember they have costs too, like maintaining the
transmission lines and billing customers.

>  I learned most of this about a year ago.  I looked into it after hearing a
> radio interview with some poor sap living near Austin.

As for the poor sap, he might have been forcing the issue of just
paralleling his invertors with comercial power.  The quick and safe
way to do it would have been to run the house off the invertors and
just feed the charging circuit from the grid, much like most high
dollar UPSs and backup generators operate.

>  Face it guys -- power companies ARE a monopoly in most places.

Absolutely, they are in almost every place in this country.  Aside
from the rare comercial entity with two supply lines, almost nobody
has a choice who's wires carry their power.  Sure you can pay extra
for "green" power, but it still comes off the same grid and is
supplied by your local monopoly (and in reality was produced by the
coal plant down the road).

I'm still not convinced that they are afraid of individual producers,
just that a lot of the technology is new and people cannot be trusted
to stay safe without onerous regulations and rules.

One person could easily blackout a neighborhood by connecting his
personal powerstation to the grid out of phase.  The cost of
diagnosing the problem, replacing fuses or transformers, and dealing
with unhappy customers quickly exceeds the $25k that someone paid for
their solar panels and invertors.

My recommendation is that you keep it quiet, don't tell the electric
company, and don't try to parallel your power with theirs.  Store as
much power as you can and sink the excess into useful seasonal loads
like a dehumidifier or space heater.

--Anton