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Let me start by saying that the solar energy debate has nothing to do with solar pool heating or solar water heating, which are traditionally the bread and butter of solar energy products in Florida. This debate is about solar electricity (photovoltaic panels). There has been a rash of articles recently describing a brewing battle between utility companies and the solar energy industry in Florida. Things reached a boiling point when the Public Service Commission refused to hear PUBLIC comment on issues that affect the solar industry. (read that again – it’s true – and it’s shocking). On one side we have the investor owned utilityRead More →

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One of the subjects that often comes up at the start of a solar electric (photovoltaic) system conversation is whether the utility company will “allow” a solar energy system to be installed. Is Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) solar friendly in Cape Coral, Sanibel, Marco Island, and the other areas they cover? While there are challenges, utility companies are generally bound to Public Service Commission Rules, including Florida’s Met Metering Rule, which give consumers fairly broad power to install customer owned renewable generation equipment. LCEC is no different, and it’s actually quite easy to get a residential or small to medium commercial system installed. In fact,Read More →

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Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute and government watchdog whose mission is to promote integrity in government and expose public corruption, has just released a scathing report on how utility companies influence the Florida legislature and utility regulators. While it’s not shocking to discover that big business uses big money to influence lawmakers, it does paint a picture of an incestuous club of cronyism that results in harm to the Florida energy consumer. Full disclosure: my company is currently embroiled in a battle with FPL over interpretation of the “Net Metering Rule,” 25-6.065, F.A.C., Interconnection and Net Metering of Customer-Owned Renewable Generation. I have requested informal assistanceRead More →

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If you are an FPL Netmetering customer with a solar electric system, you may have received an email recently describing changes to the program. All of these changes apply only to new Netmetering customers, and no action is needed for existing customers. The only significant change that applies to non-government entities is that a manual disconnect switch is no longer needed for new Tier 2 and Tier 3 interconnected systems (systems with a gross power rating exceeding 10kW). Specifically, the email addressed these following changes: Eliminating the requirement for a manual visual load break disconnect switch on U.L. 1741 listed inverter based renewable energy systems.Read More →

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Unlike the southern tip, the northern end of North Captiva, FL, not accessible by land vehicles, actually has utility electric power available. Just like any mainland homeowner, this one wanted to offset increasing utility bills with solar energy. Working on an island is obviously a challenge, but our amazing crew pulled off this 4.6kW SunPower solar photovoltaic system in two days. This system is comprised of fourteen SunPower 327W modules, among the most efficient modules commercially available. Paired with a SunPower branded SMA SB-5000US inverter, this system is expected to cover the majority of this homeowner’s electrical consumption. The system was installed to meet theRead More →

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Net Metering, the concept and laws that allow solar electricity producers to connect to the grid and sell back energy, is under attack in the United States. Florida has been spared from the recent trend of utility companies working publicly to repeal or amend Net Metering laws. Utility companies in other states have taken various public and well-funded measures to repeal Net Metering laws or to make Net Metering less attractive to solar energy customers. For example, Arizona utilities recently succeeded in adding a fixed charged for solar producers based on photovoltaic system size. While it was opposed by the solar industry and the finalRead More →

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It has been extremely exhausting, but I finally completed installing a 10kW photovoltaic (solar electric) system at my home in Fort Myers, FL today. The final interconnection was done by my electrician and we fired up the system. To my delight, even with dense cloud cover, my meter started spinning backward! I see this happen many times each year, but now I know the feeling of producing my own energy. I now understand why customers are so antsy and anxious about their installation schedules. It’s EXCITING to be your own power plant! I now understand why people want it, and more importantly, why they wantRead More →

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As expected, Cape Coral passed the Public Service Tax measure on April 29, 2013. The tax impacts every utility electric customer in the City. The more you use electricity, the more tax you pay. As I noted in my earlier post, solar energy producers can avoid tax on every kilowatt-hour they reduce or produce with solar energy. The City of Cape Coral released an online calculator that has a few deficiencies. Most importantly to me is that the calculator ignores solar producing customers using LCEC’s netmetering program (both commercial and residential). If you are a small commercial (non-demand charge) or residential customer with solar electricRead More →

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Utility electric rates in Southwest Florida vary quite a bit depending on how much electricity you consume. I created a spreadsheet to calculate what your utility electric rate would be with different utilities depending on the amount of energy consumed. What you will find is that the effective rate for LCEC is higher for typical residential customers because of the higher fixed customer charge. Another interesting fact is that LCEC netmetered customers with solar electric generation pay more that regular LCEC customers until they consume at least 1,342 kilowatt hours (net). Again, this is because of a higher customer charge. The rates are current asRead More →

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FPL is in full swing installing Smart Meters around Southwest Florida.I had mine installed last week, but the communications network is a work in progress, so there’s no benefit to me yet. Despite all of the complaints and fears about Smart Meters, I believe the benefits will be great, allowing a granular look at your energy consumption down to your hourly usage, all available from FPL’s website. It’s not as good as some of the energy monitors on the market that can give you a per-second look at your consumption, or even monitor individual appliances or circuits, but it will provide significant insight into yourRead More →

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I guess I’ll weigh in on the highly publicized FPL rate increase request that would add about $7 to each residential account’s monthly bill starting in 2013. FPL representatives say that the increase will pay for increased costs of doing business and a new “efficient” natural gas fired plant. The increase amounts to $695 million per year. Expected savings from the new plant – $600 million over it’s LIFETIME! Does something seem very wrong here? The problem with a public utility is that they are entitled to make a net profit, but that guaranteed profit is a percentage of costs. Costs increase, profits increase. ThereRead More →

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Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) places a paper insert in utility bill envelopes for netmetered customers (those with solar photovoltaic systems). This insert is a bit confusing, and it is no wonder that customers come to me asking if their solar electric system is meeting expectations. Months ago I made recommendations to LCEC on how to reword the information presented to make it more accurate and understandable, and they have made some improvements. So how do you read the LCEC netmetering bill insert? Here is picture of a recent statement from a customer’s utility service. Let’s break down each line. Kilowatt hours consumed (from LCEC):Read More →

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Fafco Solar has completed the FGCU Naples Botanical Garden photovoltaic system installation. I am particularly proud of this system and the expert installers that did the heavy lifting. The system includes 164 SolarWorld 245 watt solar photovoltaic modules, 164 Enphase M215 microinverters, a Unirac SolarMount mounting system, and S-5! Clamp attachments. Because of the existing electrical system at the facility, the photovoltaic system is divided into two sub-arrays backfeeding power into two 208V 3-Phase electrical distribution panels. Commercial 3-Phase installations are always interesting from a design standpoint because typically we are dealing with various existing transformers and often generator backup systems. It was truly aRead More →