Making Renewable Energy Affordable Through Net Metering
Solar power is a renewable energy source that is extremely popular, but has a cost problem. Net metering is a concept the government is currently using to offset this problem.
Solar power works by converting sunlight into electricity. With the abundant amount of sunlight hitting the planet each and every day, the potential of converting to solar power is massive. Much research is being done in the field of nanotechnology to make solar cells almost cheap, and the answer is only a year off. Even with prices coming down on solar cells we still need net metering to make it all work. 40 states have already found this out and have net metering.
Net metering is simply the concept of selling energy back to a utility company at the same rate it sells it to you. This concept goes a long way to making solar energy competitive. Here’s how it works.
Assume you buy a solar panel system for your home. Your high energy needs tend to happen early in the morning and later in the afternoon. During the week, you have nominal energy needs during the day when you are at work. So, what happens to the energy being produced by the solar panels during the peak usage of the day? Well, you can sell it back to the utility company. This is called being “on grid”, with the grid being the platform the utility uses to deliver energy to communities. With net metering, the energy produced by your panels is fed back into the grid. Your utility meter literally spins backwards. You are selling electricity to the utility during the day. At night, you draw energy off the grid. The end result is you owe little or nothing to the utility company at the end of the month. This will save you a thousand dollars or so each year.
This brings us to state of affairs in South Carolina. The South Carolina Public Service Authority ( Santee-Cooper ) is our state owned electric utility and serves most of the residential and commercial customers. They have hired experts to say “NO” to net metering. This stops you from generating your own renewable power…. With over 40 states having laws on the books requiring utilities to allow net metering what is wrong with our state owned utility? Shouldn’t Santee Cooper have the best interest of the people as it’s prime objective?
Something is wrong when South Carolina is the last State in the nation that allows homeowners to produce green power!
So, what can you do to deal with the net metering issue today?
Governor Mark Sanford is the boss of our state owned utility, Santee Cooper, and now is the time for everyone to send him an e-mail asking for his support in the battle to allow net metering in South Carolina. You have the power, do it now, send him e-mail today!
“Today’s problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them” Albert Einstein