| Net Metering Net metering is an important enabler for companies interested in on-site generation of green power. For companies generating their own electricity, net metering allows for the flow of electricity both to and from the customer through a single, bi-directional meter. With net metering, during times when the company's generation exceeds its use, electricity flows to the utility and offsets electricity consumed at another time. In effect, the customer is using the excess generation to offset electricity that would have been purchased at the retail rate, effectively reducing total electricity consumption from the grid. Under most state rules, residential, commercial, and industrial customers are eligible for net metering under a given volume, but some states restrict eligibility to particular customer classes. For current listing of states with net metering programs and eligibility see the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy web site. On-Site Generation of Green Power Companies can take advantage of on-site generation opportunities in two ways: installation of green power technologies such as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Solar concentrator, wind, geothermal, fuel cells, and microturbines; and the direct use of electricity or gas from green power projects such as landfill gas or, less commonly, wind projects. Corporate consumers can invest in green power through the installation of solar photovoltaic systems or of clean power technologies such as fuel cells and microturbines. These technologies improve electricity reliability and can protect against blackouts or brownouts. They can also provide protection against high peak prices for grid-based power. In addition, installing on-site green power projects may enable companies to participate in carbon emission markets by creating emission offsets through the displacement of electricity from the grid or from fossil fuel-based generators |
Net Metering
What are Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)?
Renewable energy certificates (RECs) are a renewable energy product that
companies can purchase to reduce the environmental impact of their
business activities. A REC represents the environmental attributes – for
example, avoided CO2 emissions – that are created when electricity is
generated using renewable resources instead of using fossil fuel sources
such as coal, oil, and natural gas. RECs can be sold separately from their
associated electricityand thus enable customers to purchase the
environmental attributes of renewable power generation independently of
their retail power supply. Purchasing RECs, therefore, can be an effective
means for a company to "green" the electricity it consumes.
What do RECs provide?
RECs provide many benefits to companies. They can help corporations:
* Reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions
* Meet renewable energy targets
* Strengthen customer and other stakeholder relations
* Differentiate products and brands
Advantages of RECs
RECS can offer customers several advantages relative to green power
primarily because they can be sold separately from electricity and can be
purchased from any source in the country. These advantages include:
* Lower cost
* Wider selection of suppliers
* Greater variety of renewable resource options
* Simplified transactions
* Easier ability to interact directly with renewable energy projects
Green power and RECs: More similar than different
Whether one buys green power or one buys RECs (while purchasing
commodity electricity in a separate transaction) the outcomes are very
similar, for instance:
* A renewable power facility is generating and delivering electricity to the
wholesale power market.
* The end customer does not physically receive electricity specifically
generated from the renewable power facility. Electricity from renewable and
conventional generation facilities is mixed together into the wholesale power
market. Therefore, all customers in that market receive the same mix of
power, whether they are purchasing green power, RECs, or just commodity
electricity.
* The reliability and quality of the electricity an end customer receivers are
the same.
* Companies can "green" their electricity supply and claim title to the
environmental attributes of renewable power generation.
The primary difference between green power and RECS concerns the
customer's contract path for obtaining the environmental attributes of
renewable generation. In a green power transaction, the customer buys both
RECs and electricity from its retail electricity provider. In a REC transaction,
the customer continues to buy commodity electricity from its retail electricity
provider, but purchases RECs from a different provider. In other words,
electricity and the environmental attributes of renewable generation are
purchases separately, from two different providers in two different
transactions.
Identifying and evaluating REC options
The first step in the process of identifying and evaluating REC options is to
determine the business rationale for a REC purchase. Is it to reduce GHG
emissions, to strengthen customer relations, to help differentiate products
in the marketplace, or to achieve some other business goal? Being clear
from the outset within the organization about the business case will enable
the REC selection parameters to be more clearly defined. After identifying
the business case for a REC purchase, companies take several factors into
consideration:
* Location of the renewable power facility.
* Type of renewable resources
* Volume
* Vintage
* Contract duration
* Price
* Certification
Who is buying RECs?
Since January 2002, numerous corporations in the U.S. representing a
variety of industries have started buying RECs. Some of these companies
include:
* Alcoa Inc.
* BP (USA)
* Delphi Corporation
* DuPont
* Flying J
* Herman Miller, Inc.
* Interface
* Johnson & Johnson
* Kinko's Inc.
* Lowe's Home Improvement
* NatureWorks LLC
* Nike
* Patagonia
* Pitney Bowes
* Staples
* The Coca Cola Company
* The Tower Companies
* West Linn Paper Company
* White Wave, Inc.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
What KWH Do I need ???
* First, take number of KWH shown on your bill.
Divide that by 30. That gives you your average daily
usage. So if you use 700 KWH, that is 23.3 KWH per
day.
* Take that number. Divide it by the number of full
sun hours you get per day on a yearly average.
Multiply it by 1.15. That will give you a pretty close
estimate of how many watts of solar panel you need.
So if you get 5 hours per day, divide 23.3 by 5 - that
gives you 4.66 KW, or 4,666 watts. Multiply that by
1.15, which gives you 5,360 watts of solar panel
needed.
* Average installed cost of solar electric if you do it
yourself is around $7 per watt, or $10 if you have it
installed by a licensed contractor. That includes the
cost of the panels, inverters, wire, mounts, and other
hardware. It does NOT include anything else you
might need to pay for, like inspections or extra watt
meters by the electric company. So that system will
cost you around $50,000.
* First, take number of KWH shown on your bill.
Divide that by 30. That gives you your average daily
usage. So if you use 700 KWH, that is 23.3 KWH per
day.
* Take that number. Divide it by the number of full
sun hours you get per day on a yearly average.
Multiply it by 1.15. That will give you a pretty close
estimate of how many watts of solar panel you need.
So if you get 5 hours per day, divide 23.3 by 5 - that
gives you 4.66 KW, or 4,666 watts. Multiply that by
1.15, which gives you 5,360 watts of solar panel
needed.
* Average installed cost of solar electric if you do it
yourself is around $7 per watt, or $10 if you have it
installed by a licensed contractor. That includes the
cost of the panels, inverters, wire, mounts, and other
hardware. It does NOT include anything else you
might need to pay for, like inspections or extra watt
meters by the electric company. So that system will
cost you around $50,000.
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/calculators/PVWATTS/version1/
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