Quote:
Originally Posted by Descant
2 questions.
What's the cost comparison for battery back up vs a generator. Rephrased, If I already have a standby generator, is there any incentive for batteries?
Second, it seems to me net-metering is based on power going back into the grid at a retail price (meter running backward). Since the NHEC, for example, is producing or buying power at a cost lower than what they pay you, doesn't this artificially inflate the cost for everybody? We ran into this some years ago when PSNH was "forced" to buy water power generation. There were people going around getting water flow rights and selling to PSNH with the threat that they might generate power that PSNH had to buy. I'd guess the Co-op and Unitil were in the same boat.
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Great questions--I leave the first one to NH.Solar.
The second question gets at a bunch of complicated economics, but I would say on balance is does not unfairly cost fellow rate payers. NHEC is paying you only 75% of the retail price, so they are getting compensated for their grid and other support. Plus there are a bunch of long term benefits to solar compared to fossil fuels--most significantly from an economic perspective, you are locking in your cost of electricity for 20 years, so even after ExxonMobil, OPEC and others figure out how to increase prices again, you're protected. This will help NHEC ratepayers as well--more people buying solar will mean fewer people buying oil, and this will exert downward price pressure on fossil fuel.