Distributed Solar
There’s a great deal of mis-information about distributed solar. Distributed solar refers to solar that is located on the distribution system (as opposed to the transmission system). It may include solar farms like the Trout Creek Solar farm or rooftop systems. While many utilities are adapting to accommodate increasing levels of rooftop solar, others like Sangre de Cristo maintain the old utility argument that rooftop solar shifts costs to non-solar customers. This isn’t born out by the data or the evidence, but it is a popular argument for utilities to make.
How Distributed Solar is the most cost effective way to a low cost clean energy grid
This study demonstrates how utilities with clean energy objectives can achieve those objectives most cost effectively by combining distributed and utility scale resources
Value of Solar
In 2017, Xcel energy in Minnesota made the argument that under net metering solar wasn’t paying its fair share (similar to the argument we hear from Sangre de Cristo). In response, the legislature instructed the department of commerce to conduct a study to determine what the actual value of solar was to the grid and then give the choice to the utility to either compensate the value of solar or simply continue with net metering. The study took a year, and in the end it was determined that the value of solar was actually higher than the retail rate of electricity. The utilities all chose to continue with net metering rather than compensate at the higher rate. When people hear that, they sometimes think “how is that possible that electricity can be valued higher?” - this article goes over all the various values that were included in calculating the true value of solar. All kWh are not created equal.
How does net metering work?
This video explains the basics of how net metering works. This is not from Sangre de Cristo or even from Colorado - so it doesn’t include things specific to Colorado. For example, the person in this video talks about your elected “anniversary date” - we don’t have the ability to choose that at Sangre de Cristo. They true up at the end of a Calendar year. This doesn’t work to the benefit of the solar customer because your bank of accumulated kWh credits is reset to zero in January when the solar generation is at its lowest point. It would be better to have a true up date in March as they discuss in this video. Xcel energy gives the customer an option to continually roll forward credits indefinitely - but again, we don’t have that option at Sangre de Cristo Electric.