Apparently this blog has gotten so big it now requires 2 parts. So here goes.......
TO READ PART 1 - CLICK HERE
Update - -
1/7/2015 (Wednesday) INCLUDING 2015 AND
BEYOND PREDICTIONS
I believe in
the not too distant future (within 5 years) you will see a new type of
attorney. This new breed of legal beagle
will specialize in solar panel litigation claims. You’ll know I’m right when you turn on the
television and hear something like this - - “Hey there. I’m Sunny Watts and if you’ve been burned by
going solar the law firm of ‘Watts, Current, Shady, Deals, and Schmuck’ is here
to help you. We know you were promised
the moon and barely got anything from the sunshine. You may not be getting much in the way of
free electricity, but we’ll help you see green in way of CASH because we’ll sue
those lying bastards for you. Call us
today at 1-888-U LOST IT.”
If you want to
know what makes me write this I encourage you to Google ‘solar panel sales
scams’. You’ll find there is plenty to
read on this subject. Like all new or
rapid growth industries it doesn’t take long for the scammers to set up their
circus tents. Of major interest to me
was this one http://watchdog.org/130098/solarcity-horror-stories/ on WATCHDOG.ORG/written by TORI
RICHARDS. This is a very insightful well
written article. Connect a few dots and
you can figure out who the next Bernie Madoff is going to be. This makes me feel kind of bad for my beloved
state of Nevada because the powers that be may have made a deal with the devil. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m right our
current Governor, Brian Sandoval, may have dug his political grave. Enter the Spin Doctors.
Okay, moving
on……December of last year was nothing short of a horrible month for solar
electricity in and around Las Vegas. We
had less than 50% sunny days, 15 major sunshine days to be exact. Despite the excessive cloud cover we still
managed to make around 85% of our monthly goal however that fell short of what
we needed to make more electricity than we used. Our
usage was up due to colder temperatures which forced us to run the furnace
more. Add shorter daylight and we used
more ‘juice’ for powering lights.
Instead of having the 80 kWh bonus hours that I predicted in November we
ended up short. The numbers look like
this - - Used 520 kWh (slightly more than 16 kWh per day). Made 427 kWh (around 13 kWh per day) leaving
us a shortage of 93kWh. By the end of November we
had accrued 274 extra – Decembers 93 kWh leaves us a remaining usable
balance of 181 kWh. Our actual bill was
$.43 after using the remaining credit balance from the previous month.
The jury is
still out on my NV PUC complaint.
January
should have an abundance of sunny days which will put us in positive territory
for the month and help make up for the December shortfall. I believe we will generate most of Decembers
shortfall.
Finally for
this month, and I hope a smart News Director or Meteorologist reads this - - In
the future weather forecasts need a monthly CLOUD COVER PREDICTION for solar
panel owners. Let me be the first to say
that is going to be hard but it will someday become a reality. If I was still in the business I’d be doing
it now. The first station to do it gets
to plant the “WE WERE FIRST” flag.
Remember, it was only 50 or so years that forecasting weather beyond 3
days with any accuracy was pretty much a joke.
Today 7 to 10 day forecasts are damn decent. Hurricane season forecasts still suck, but
such is life. The best that can be said
about Hurricane season forecasts is, “Thank God most viewers have short term
memory.”
Oh, one last
thing. Next month I’ll share with you
the facts of ‘hidden’ solar panel electricity.
See you then.
Update
- - 2/4/2015 (Wednesday) SOLAR POWERS
‘HIDDEN’ ELECTRIC BONUS
I’m going to take care of some housekeeping matters before I get into the down and dirty numbers
for January.
#1 I got an email last month that informed me
there are advertisers on my blog pushing 0 Down – lease/purchase solar panel
offers along with solar panel finance deals.
The email was careful to point out that I preach against those things so
why are they advertised on my blog?
This is a
free blog. I pay nothing for it. In return any advertiser is free to plug
their goods. To be clear, I do not, have
not and until anyone can show me how you can get a reasonable ROI with 0 down –
lease/purchase or financing solar panels, I will not endorse, recommend, or
encourage any solar panel deal with the above options. Cash is the ONLY way to make it work with a reasonable
ROI. Any ad that appears on this blog is the right of the advertiser but not endorsed by me.
#2 The
following is a quote from my last month’s blog entry, “January should have an abundance of
sunny days which will put us in positive territory for the month and help make
up for the December shortfall.” I want
to take a minute to correct any misconception that might be taken from that
quote.
There
are 3 things that can never happen – 1)
You can never make up for lost sleep. 2) You are
never playing with the houses money in a casino. 3) You
cannot make up for lost solar electric production in the future.
Let me
elaborate. You plan on sleeping 9 hours
tonight but you only get 8. Tomorrow is
a new day and yesterday is gone. If you
get nine hours sleep the next night that’s nine hours for that day and has
nothing to do with yesterday.
You win
money in a casino and continue to play because you FALSELY deceive yourself
into believing you are playing with the houses money. WRONG!
The second you win that money it is yours. It no longer has anything to do with the
house. You are always playing with your
money. Let’s say you win 10 grand. You will pay the tax on it because it is your
money. You can damn well be sure the
casino isn’t going to pay your tax. If
it was their money they would pay it.
Casino owner’s love guests that believe when they win they are playing
with the houses money. It makes it
easier for the house to get that money back and then some.
For the
same reason you cannot catch up on lost sleep, you cannot make up for lost
solar electric in the future. As the old
song lyric goes, “that was yesterday, and yesterdays gone.”
As
promised, here’s the story of the ‘hidden’ electric bonus by going solar…..
What I’m
about to share with you applies to NVEnergy and any other power company that
charges those annoying little fees based on electricity delivered. The fees I’m referring to are things like
Temporary Green Power Financing (TRED), Energy Efficiency Charge (EE), and
Universal Energy Charge to name a few.
These only amount to a fraction of a penny per kWh (TRED is .00068, EE
is .00319, and Universal Energy Charge = .0039 as of the time I wrote this) but
added up to around $2 on my last bill.
Because of the low cost, I often refer to these as ‘short’ fees.
This will
only work if you are on a standard rate schedule. It’s also counter intuitive to what you may
currently believe.
Solars
‘hidden’ bonus is based on the fact that during the daylight hours you are
generating more than you are using. You
are also using some of what you are generating at the time it’s made and it is
NOT being sent to or stored by your electric utility. In other words, it’s not going through the
utility company’s meter. You made it. You use it.
It’s yours. It’s gone. It’s not metered by the power company.
You’ve
probably been told, especially if you were on TOU, it’s less expensive to use
electricity during non-peak evening and overnight hours. Let’s say you have laundry, vacuuming, need
to run the dishwasher, and other electric using acts that could be done during
the day or evening or night. If you are
solar, do them between 9 am - 4 pm and spread them out so you are not using all
of this energy in a short period of time.
By doing that you will be using the electric as it is made, it won’t go
through the meter and you won’t be paying those short fees on it. Oh, and you’ll still be making excess
electric that will be usable during the dark hours, keep in mind that delivered
electric will go through the power company’s meter and is subject to those damn
fees.
To further
prove my point, last month, prior to going solar, I would have typically have
used about 23 kWh per day. After going
solar my delivered rate showed at 16 kWh per day. Did going solar magically cause me to use 7
kWh per day less? No. I’m using those 7 kWh per day with laundry,
using the dishwasher, running the furnace or air conditioner. Because I’m using at the time it is being
made it never gets into the NVEnergy meter.
Now you understand why I call it ‘hidden’ electricity.
Okay, so
much for housekeeping and the ‘hidden’ bonus, let’s get to the January numbers.
The power
company delivered 461 kWh, while I made 501.
This adds 40 kWh back into my future use column leaving me with 221 kWh I
can use in the future. My bill was
$12.75 meter fee + 5% tax + a couple of nuisance fees + the 43 cents that I
didn’t pay last month because it would have cost more to mail it than the bill was
worth + (are you ready for this B.S.) I got charged .01 as a late charge on the
.43 cents.
Again this
month, the jury is still out on my NVEnergy PUC complaint.
With warmer
weather in February and longer amounts of daylight my power usage will drop and
yield a larger amount of accrued kWh going into March. I’m seeing about 80 kWh in my crystal
ball.
Come back next month and see for
sure.
Update - - 3/6/2015 (Friday)
DAILY SOLAR INFORMATION AT ONE LOCATION
As of this
point I’ve given you just about all you need to know for going solar. So with all of the knowledge you now have
I’ll start making my monthly updates much shorter.
I’ve decided
to place my daily solar information all in one place so you can access it
easily. At the link I’m about to share
with you, you will be able to see my daily, weekly, and monthly solar
production. With a few clicks you can
also see it hourly by the day. You will
also be able to compare it with my outdoor webcam which will show you cloud
cover. In addition you can see the solar
radiation graph from my weather center.
If you combine all of this data you will get a comprehensive look at the
making of solar electric. How cool is
that? I’m also inviting you to bookmark
and share the link to this website.
Check it out often. That mystery
website is www.weather89014.com . Simply slide
down to the solar information section and you’ll find it all.
Of course,
if there is any earth shaking new solar things you need to know about you’ll
find it here on my blog.
So the
future at this blog looks like this:
Now through
August you will get a monthly solar production update. By that point I will have a year + of solar
data from NVEnergy bills and you will get an idea of potential savings. The only missing piece of the puzzle now is
the value of my Portfolio Energy Credits and how much they will be worth. That number will be the final item needed to
get the actual ROI. When that happens I
will most certainly let you know and I’ll give a quick briefing on how it all
works. That is all handled by NVTREC and
you can check it out at www.nvtrec.com .
Oh, the jury
continues to remain out on my NVPUC complaint.
February, by
the numbers, goes like this: We used 323
kWh. We made a whooping 648 kWh. That gives us an additional 325 kWh in our
electric piggy bank. Our available total
is now at 546 kWh. March should exceed
February and that works for us. Keep in
mind that during July and August we will be using much of this excess on air
conditioning. Our February bill was
strictly meter charge, those damn nuisance fees, & 5% tax on the meter for
a total of $14.33. The bill should hover
at this point for the next several months and if we make enough extra juice
maybe all of 2015.
We’ll be
back around this time in April.
UPDATE - - 4/6/2015 (MONDAY) MARCH MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
I knew March
would be a great month for solar and WOW was I right. We used a bit more electric because we had to
add an hour daily to our pool pump runtime and we started using the air conditioner,
but still the numbers were great.
We sent
NVEnergy 692 kWh and we used 328. That
means we added 364 kWh to our existing 546 for a future usable total of 910
kWh. Our actual bill was 1 penny more
than February (translation $14.34).
The wheels
of justice continue to turn slowly and the jury is still out on my NVPUC
complaint.
Hope you’ll
be back around this time in May.
Update - -
5/8/2015 (Friday) APRIL MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
We used more
air conditioning in April and it was still our second best month for banking
additional kWh for summer.
We used 402
kWh. We generated 732 kWh and sent it
off to NVEnergy. Some simple math will
show you we got an additional 330 kWh added to our existing 910 for a bank total
of 1240 heading into May. Our extra a.c.
run added some short fees to our bill making it a total of $14.56.
May marks
our first year of solar energy and the total number of PEC for the year is 30593.395. The number I keep hearing on the PEC value is
.058 cents per PEC. If that number ends
up being correct it means there will eventually be a check coming our way for
$1774.28. That number is $500 per year more than I
originally calculated for my ROI. Bottom
line on this is if all things are equal in the upcoming years, our ROI will be
5 years and 9 months. That is 9 months
sooner than my original calculation.
Extrapolating the numbers we will have saved and earned an additional
$52,975 over 25 years with a >8% ROI.
In the current economy, 8% ROI is pretty damn good.
The jury is
still out on my NVPUC complaint.
We’ve got 2
months to go until we have a full year without being on TOU. Then there is the first sale of PEC which
will help verify the numbers above.
I’ll keep
you posted and hope you’ll be back around this time next month.
URGENT UPDATE URGENT . . . . 5/11/2015 (Monday) PLEASE SHARE THIS...... URGENT
There is a wonderful solar article on page 16 of the May 18,
2015 edition of ‘TIME’. The article is
titled “POWER STRUGGLE” and was written by Emily Barone.
This article highlights a bad strategy being used by power
companies that will pit solar owners against all other power consumers by
putting the blame for future electricity rate increases on the backs of solar
owners. The argument is solar owners pay
much less, thus forcing upgrades and infrastructure costs to be spread over
fewer customers, which will mean higher electric rates.
These are the same power companies that tell the general
public they are pro-solar. I believe
they are, however, they are only pro-solar if they own it and control it. If you own it, they are not pro-solar.
Within the article are some important numbers that I have
posted here before:
1)
Less than 1 percent of the entire nation’s power
comes from, you guessed it, solar.
2) More than half of that less than 1% (.6%)
comes from large scale solar projects owned by or
financed by the electric
companies.
3)
The remaining .4% comes from non-profits,
businesses and home owners solar systems.
4)
In actuality .2% is from home owners.
These power companies want us to believe that .2% of its
customer base will be responsible for future rate increases. REALLY?
Keep in mind these are the same utility companies that have
powerful Washington D.C. lobbyists to keep the company wheels greased.
800 POUND GORILLA
Think of it like this…..there is a 40 pound boy in a small
room with an angry 800 pound gorilla. If
a fight breaks out what do you think will happen? Answer – The ape will rip that little kid
into pieces.
Now think of the 40 pound kid as .2% of homeowners that
are scattered about and new to the solar game.
The gorilla is power companies with decades of experience in knowing how
to get what they want.
So how does the little kid cope with that kind of situation?
1) Face
the reality of what you are up against.
2) Tell everyone that will listen about what is happening.
3) Get as many people to help as possible.
I already understand #1 and now you do too.
#2 is about www.facebook.com/esolarhoc
As for #3, this is where you come in. Visit the above page. Like it.
Share it. Get the word out.
If you are wondering why the Electric Companies are taking
on this battle so early in the game, it’s because of what I call the ‘Beetle’
effect. In the early and mid 60’s
Volkswagen was importing a small amount of VW Beetles into the U.S.
market. The Big 3 in Detroit laughed
saying import autos would never be a big thing in America. VW’s were in the $600 range brand new and you
could have any color provided it was black, white, or VW Yellow. Long story – short, that less than a fraction
of one percent grew, and Grew, and GREW.
The Electric Utilities are unnecessarily afraid of the ‘Beetle’
effect. There is always a point of
market saturation and ever changing better technologies that should really
scare the beegeeziz out of them. Personally, if I owned an electric company I
would be afraid of cheap hydrogen power cells that could be refueled, generate
electricity and power a home.
UPDATE - - - 5/18/15 (MONDAY) PROOF I'M CORRECT ABOUT THE ABOVE UPDATE
Read this article from Bloomberg News. http://goo.gl/xuGcej
Anyway, please visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/esolarhoc ,
spread the word and get on board.
Update - - 6/5/2015 (Friday)
MAY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
May is usually our best month for homemade electricity but
this year it tanked. We had abnormally
high amounts of cloud cover that kept us at around 93% of our expected
amount. On the plus side the cloudiness
helped keep our temperatures cooler so we saved on running the a.c.
By the numbers for May – Used 420 kWh – Made 544 for a
surplus of 124 kWh. Add those last three digits to our existing
1240 and we now have a reserve of 1364 kWh hours as we head into the hottest
months of summer.
No news on the NVPUC complaint.
Hope you visit again in July.
Update - -
7/6/2015 (Monday) JUNE MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
Since
going solar, NVEnergy has swapped out our meter 3 times. The first was because we went solar. Number two was when I dumped Time of
Use. Just last week they changed it again
to put on a net smart meter. Rest
assured I’ll be watching this new meter very carefully. Trust but verify.
We
made slightly more than the projected amount of solar electric for June by only
by a meager .03 MWh. Five cloudy days
hurt us and also June was nothing short of HOT with a few record tying days. Bottom line is we have now tapped into the
reserve because we used more than we generated.
We started this billing cycle with 1364 extra kWh but by the end of the
cycle we sucked up 324 kWh leaving us a reserve balance of 990 kWh with 2.5 hot
months in front of us. If the next
couple of months are average we will make July with just the basic and short
fees and should be close in making it through August. September, well, I’m thinking we’ll get a bit
of a hit.
This
month’s bill was a buck and change over May.
The exact amount for this bill is $15.68.
Still no news on the NVPUC complaint.
Please visit again in August.
Update - - 8/7/2015 (Friday)
JULY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
This was an exciting month because our first year of solar
energy credits were approved. 27,552
credits are now in our bank. If the
$.059 figure ends up being accurate that is $1625.57. My guesstimate at time of purchase was $1200
per year. That extra will shorten our ROI
time just a bit.
Now for the July wrap.
We used 865 kWh and needed to use 416 kWh from our accrued credits. The actual bill was $15.90. Here’s where things get dicey. We have 574 remaining kWh. If all things are equal to last year we
should use 456 of those next month leaving us only 118 kWh heading into
September. If that’s the case we’ll come
up short about 206 kWh in September and that would give us a September bill of
around $45. A power bill of that size
would be the largest bill I’ve had in the past rolling calendar year.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back again in September.
Update - - 9/4/2015 (Friday)
AUGUST MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
The race is on to see how September ends. After this bill we still have 191 accrued kWh
for next month. That’s good, but I do believe
we’ll come up just a bit short. The two
big factors will be how long it stays hot and how much cloud cover we
have. As I mentioned, the race is
on.
In August we used 777 kWh with 383 coming out of our reserve. The actual bill was $15.64. If we have a bill for actual electric used
next month I now calculate it should be =/< $37.00, which, as I mentioned
last month would be the largest bill in the last rolling calendar year. For us, going solar has worked.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back in October.
Update
- - 10/6/2015 (Tuesday) SEPTEMBER MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
WE DID IT! We made it
through September with our new and accrued solar panel energy. That’s 12 consecutive months. We’re well beyond pleased. We’re thrilled with this outcome. Even better, as we head into our next year we
still have 26 unused accrued kWh. Bottom
line – Robco was conservative in their calculations with our solar panel
system. They calculated we may get a
slightly higher energy bill in both August and September. It’s smart for them to make a conservative
estimate because it makes the system look even better. My more liberal calculations were pretty damn
close. I figured we may get a slight
bill in September only, but even I under shot the power of the panels.
By the numbers - NVEnergy sent us 615 kWh. We sent them 450. That left us 165 short but we had 191 kWh in
reserve leaving us the 26 kWh mentioned above in the bank for the future. The September bill with meter, taxes, and
short fees was $15.19.
Since we have a full 18 months of data my future updates
will be on an ‘as needed’ basis. When we
sell our PECs, I’ll post it. When the
PUC complaint is resolved, I’ll post that too.
When I hear of a scam or lawsuit that’s of interest, you’ll find it
here.
My conclusion on solar panels is if you do it right – you’re
golden. Do it wrong and you’re
screwed.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Update - -
2/12/2016 (Friday) RESPONSE TO NEW SOLAR RATE EVENTS
HOW THE NEVADA PUC JUST KILLED SOLAR
ENERGY, GAVE NVEnergy A RATE HIKE, AND DEALT A BLOW TO ELECTRIC CAR OWNERSHIP
IN THE STATE
I haven’t
seen this kind of destruction by a government entity in my entire
lifetime. By a 3 to nothing vote the NV
PUC just wrecked an industry that should have been a win-win for one of the
handful of states where solar energy totally made sense. It not only made sense but could have
generated untold and now never to be seen $’s.
Faraday and
Elon Musk need to abandon plans in the Silver State IMMEDIATELY. Stop construction and run for cover. This states leadership cannot and should not
be trusted.
I’ve just
checked the numbers – my numbers. I will
recover my solar investment over a period of 12.5 years. Originally it would have been 6-1/2 but now,
should I live long enough I’ll get through this debacle. Thousands and thousands will never see the
light.
Nevada’s
residential solar industry is DEAD. If
you want to finance a solar panel system there is absolutely no way to make it
work and get your money back. If anyone
tells you otherwise, it’s a lie, period.
NVEnergy was
willing, at least saying they were, to grandfather the rate increase over 20
years. Now if they were willing to do
that then they must have known any negative result to the NVEnergy bottom line
would have been minimal at worst. By
letting the rates climb NVEnergy just got an unrequested rate hike.
I know of
some people that went solar in the hopes of getting an electric car in the
future. Not now. In the words of one person regarding a
planned electric vehicle purchase, NOT NOW – NOT EVER.
Now for my
master plan - -
From the following blog:
The BIG Players:
Gov. Sandoval – talks the ‘Green’ talk, but does he walk the ‘Green’
walk?
The NV Legislature:
Some of which have their hands in the pockets of NVEnergy, taxpayer
pockets, and the pockets of some big players selling and installing solar
panels.
Senator Harry Reid:
Has one hand in the pocket of NVEnergy and the other hand in taxpayer pockets.
NVEnergy: The big
power that helped create the big mess.
A few companies selling solar: Stretched the truth to customers sucking them
into the solar creator.
The Small players:
Getting burned by solar big time are the residential customers of NVEnergy.
The NV Public Utilities commission: Trying to get it right but are challenged at
every turn.
The simple fact:
Southern Nevada, with an abundance of sunshine, should be the nation’s
leader in production of solar electricity from all possible sources, which
includes commercial, business, non-commercial, and residential energy
users. All of the above players have
helped turned the simple fact into a convoluted nightmare with little sunshine
to generate solar.
The detailed story:
Prior to January 1, 2016 NVEnergy never purchased excess
electricity generated by solar panels.
Solar customers were given Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs). Any excess electricity generated by panels
was credited to your electric bill.
These were known as accrued kWh.
In the spring and fall some, NOT
ALL, solar owners would generate accrued kWh. Those accrued kWh would then be used by the
owner during the hot summer months and a couple of the winter months. Part of the original solar agreement was
that solar panel installations could not exceed 10% above the previous 12
months of electrical use.
NVEnergy could purchase PECs to meet federal mandated
renewable energy standards, but they never bought accrued kWh. PECs are NOT the same as accrued kWh. PEC’s are from some nebulous mathematical
formula. Kilowatt hours (kWh) are the
real deal. These are generated from the
actual solar panels and are metered.
Make no mistake NVEnergy is no friend of residential solar
owners. Residential NVEnergy customers
are the bread and butter users of NVEnergy and NVEnergy wants it all. Nationally about .25% or ¼ of 1% of solar
energy comes from RESIDENTIAL SOLAR. In
Southern Nevada that number is right around 2%.
NVEnergy wants you to believe that 2% of the residential customer that
have gone solar is going to dramatically push up the rates for the other
98%. FACT: NVEnergy’s own numbers DO NOT SUPPORT
THAT. According to NVEnergy the growth
rate for Southern Nevada is 3.63%. That
number is 1.63% above the 2% that have defected to solar. NVEnergy does not mind losing some government
buildings, schools, and non-profit organizations to solar panels. That gives the company bragging rights about
how solar friendly they are and it is simply good PR.
The NVEnergy strategy is simple. Get those that don’t have solar to hate those
that do. Convince the ‘don’t haves’ that
the ‘do haves’ will be the reason for future rate increases. Forget reality that shows otherwise, this is
a perception game.
This is as equally important as anything negative about
NVEnergy. There have been some
unscrupulous and disingenuous large solar companies that have been selling
solar installations on false promises and, in some cases, out and out
lies. Rent to own, lease to own, or
financing a solar installation is a horrible idea. The math on getting a reasonable return on
investment didn’t work in the past and still doesn’t work. I have yet to have anybody show me
otherwise. This type of salesmanship and
installation practice should have been stopped before it ever got started. If you bought a residential solar system
under the above conditions and you are mad at NVEnergy you are picking on the
wrong company. You should be after the
company that sold you on it or simply blame yourself for a bad decision and
move on.
The Politicians (Governor ‘Sunshine’ Sandoval, the NV
Legislature and Harry Reid):
Many, if not all, of the above have taken political
donations from NVEnergy. Some, if not
all, have also accepted money from SolarCity.
That puts any elected hack that did it into one hell of a pickle. You can’t be beholdin’ to two opposite
entities. Even worse for governor
‘Sunshine’ is how he led the charge in convincing the legislature on what
wonderful deal Elon Musk’s battery plant would be for Nevada. Now that NVEnergy and the NVPUC has neutered
SolarCity, ‘Sunshine’ must be more than a little worried about what would
happen if ‘Battery Man’ (Musk) pulls the plug on Reno. Note to ‘Gov.’ - - In the 1970’s Volkswagen
did just that in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.
They built a VW Rabbit manufacturing plant with huge state concessions
and tax breaks. After promising years of
prosperity on this deal the plant lasted one year. It cost the PA tax payers millions.
It’s not totally correct to put the blame for this debacle
on the NV Public Utilities Commission.
Under staffed and over worked, I believe some improperly applied
pressure led to a hasty and, there’s no nice way to say this, bad
decision.
So where does this leave solar owners? I hope this will lead you to follow my
decision.
January 1, 2016 NVEnergy started buying my excess electricity. No more accrued credits. My bill shows they bought it all, which the
way I see it, now makes me an electric company.
I manufacture and now sell electricity.
Certainly that was not by my design.
But now that I am electric company I am entitled to the following:
11)
To negotiate rates and PUC hearings on such
rates.
22)
To be paid monthly by check and not in credits
by NVEnergy. After all of those years of
paying my bills on time I am entitled to the same courtesy.
33) If NVEnergy does not pay on time I am entitled
to late fees.
44)
I’m entitled to legal representation and have
the rates of such representation included into negotiated rate paid by
NVEnergy. You can damn well bet NVEnergy
has lawyers on their staff.
55)
NVEnergy should be subject to payment of the
same short fees (nuisance fees) on my bill that I
pay on my monthly bill.
66)
All of my years in Southern Nevada I had no
choice but to buy electricity from NVEnergy.
NVEnergy should have no choice and should be mandated to buy mine.
77)
As an electric company I should be granted the
right to put as many solar panels on my
property as permitted by building
codes.
At the current time I am shopping for legal representation
for my electric company. Maybe I can
find a legal beagle to represent all of those that join the idea presented
here. My goal is to gain a decent ROI,
just like NVEnergy’s goal is to get a decent ROI.
Actually I would love to meet with Governor Sandoval, any
and all interested members of the Nevada Legislature, NVEnergy and/or the
NVPUC. From coast to coast this state is
becoming the joke of solar energy and that should have never happened.
Final note:
My electric company already meets federal guidelines for the amount of
electricity generated by renewable resources.
If you are a solar owner please join me. Contact nevadawx@yahoo.com Subject:
Solar owner.
Update - - 3/11/2016 (Friday) THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE SO FAR!!!!
Finally Some Good
News for NV Residential Solar Panel Owners
You may have already guessed any good news did not
come from Gov. Sunless Sandoval, his Carson City Cronies, NVEnergy nor the NV
PUC. This good news comes from a white
knight company that really, really, really wanted to help us.
I’m sure most of you, if not all of you, know Warren (stick
it to you) Buffett’s local liars club, more oft than not referred to as
NVEnergy is no longer interested in purchasing Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs)
generated from solar. A system they
helped create and signed off on is DEAD.
That leaves those of us who own our PECs, aka Renewable Energy
Certificates (REC’s) in other states, SOL (Shit out of Luck).
Now along comes a source of illumination and it’s not from
the sun, however, it is from a local solar company. Enter and welcome with open arms A
to Z Solar Systems.
If you bought your system outright, did not take the rip-off
NVEnergy rebate, and own your REC’s help has arrived. I want to state upfront A to Z Solars
intentions are not purely philanthropic.
There is money in it for them, however, they are taking the risk and
deserve some return on that.
A to Z Solar Sytems is the ONLY entity in the state of NV
actively marketing and selling RECs from both residential and small commercial
solar installs. They can sell across
state lines which will get the best price for you and best 15% commission for
them. You commit for 1 year at a time
and can bail at the end of any year commitment.
In short they track, monitor, and sell you RECs and you get
the check, less 15%. How much will you
get? Hey, prices vary but anything is
better than the boot in your a$$ you are currently getting.
Up front you need to know this.....you need a digital meter
accurate within 00.2% on your solar panels.
Analog meters are only accurate within 1% and that’s simply not good
enough. That digital meter is going to
set you back 100 beans ($). A to Z will
sell and install this for you.
I suspect sometime in the future some other local solar
saviors will jump on board and that might cause some competition on commission
rates.
I’ll tell you this I jumped at this opportunity almost
instantly. Every day you wait is more
PECs (RECs) down the rat hole.
Contact info for A to Z Solar Systems is (702) 831 0313
Physical address 4012
S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite K-341 Las Vegas,
NV 89013
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
YOU CAN STILL GO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR IN NEVADA....BUT
In case you’ve been living in a cave the past few months,
the Public Utilities Commission in Nevada blocked out the sunshine for
residential solar in January of 2016.
Along with many many others, my initial reaction was
NVEnergy got their wish, Gov. ‘Sunless’ Sandoval sold out to big electric, and
the PUCN was a rubber stamp for helping Warren Buffett’s new toy, NVEnergy. To me, all of the above still holds
true. The next statement I’ve repeatedly
made needs revision. I’ve been rightly
quoted as saying, “Residential Solar is dead in Nevada.” After additional research and some
adjustments to my residential solar model I can now tell you residential solar is
not dead, however it is seriously wounded.
The fact is you can make residential solar still work in your favor BUT
you have to be very careful in how you do it.
Residential Solar now requires more homework than
before. Your Return on Investment will
be less and the ROI will take a longer period of time which makes your age now
factor into the equation.
ENTER THE NEW REALITIES
I’m going to try and make this as simple as I can and
upfront I’ll tell you many of the old rules of residential solar still apply,
so I’ll start with them first.
1) Shop Around
(old reality)
Get bids on your project from
multiple companies. I strongly suggest
talking with Robco Electric www.robcoelectricinc.com
and A to Z Solar Systems www.NVRECs.com before
you sign on the line.
2)
Put up the maximum amount of panels allowed for
compliance (old
reality/new reality)
You objective is to zero out you electric
bill as much as possible. The only way
to do this is to load up on panels. Prior to January 1 you were limited to a
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
3)
Head South without any obstructions (old
reality)
Make sure you panels are installed
on the South side of your home and there are no obstructions blocking out the
sunshine. If you don’t have a good
southerly heading without anything blocking the sun, don’t waste your money on
solar.
4)
PAY CASH
(old reality)
If you finance solar panels or do a
lease/purchase (which I have always said is the worst idea ever) you will find
it nearly impossible to get your money back.
I’ve actually talked with some people who, under the new rules, are now
telling me they are paying more with their lease/purchase solar then they would
have paid in electric bills. In short,
they will never get their money back and it’s costing them MORE. Make no mistake about this, having
lease/purchase solar panels on you home will make it more difficult to
sell. Especially if the company that did
the deal pulled out of Nevada.
5)
Make sure your installation comes with Enphase
Inverters (new reality)
I’ll explain this with #6.
6)
Get set up to sell your Renewable Energy Credits
(new reality)
Prior to January
1st of 2016 Nevada had Portfolio Energy Credits. Initially these were yours to sell, however it got to a point where
NVEnergy had no plans on buying them.
PECs had a multiplier applied to them which really meant nothing. Other states call them RECs and have no
multiplier. Here is where you must have
contact with A to Z Solar. As of this
writing they are the only company in Nevada that can sell your RECs. They get 10% of the money and you get
90%. Hey, 90% is better than a rake in
the face. To meet specifications on
selling RECs you must have Enphase Inverters on your solar panels and you must
have a digital solar meter installed that is accurate within 2/10’s of 1%. That will cost you 100 bucks and A to Z Solar
will handle that.
7)
Your AGE
is now a factor on going solar (new reality)
When we decided to go solar I was
64. Under the old rules I calculated a
6-1/2 year pay back with an overall 11% ROI.
Under the new system my payback is now 12 years with an overall 6%
ROI. By the time we get our initial
investment back I will be 76. In today’s
economic climate a 6% return on investment is decent, not great, but
decent. I feel pretty confident I’d be
around in my early 70’s to make all of this work. I’m in good health and I’m hoping now 76 plus
a few is livable. If you decide to go
residential solar, the younger you are the better. Fifty-five seems like a pretty decent age. Depending on your health, even 60 might
work. Beyond 60 you become boarder line
on making it work. It’s hard to
appreciate an ROI when you’re busy taking an eternal dirt nap.
You now have 3 new realities to consider before
putting solar panels on your home. It’s
still doable but not quite as profitable.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Stop back from time to time and see what’s
new. I’ll post update information on my
FB page and twitter.
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Real, raw and sometimes raunchy these are the behind-the-scenes television and radio stories.
These are the events you were never meant to know.
Of course, you are invited to share this blog along with my many blog entries under GOLD NUGGETS OF TRUTH.
As I do all of these things I'll be posting notices on my Facebook page
so please follow me there for updates. My FB page is Terry Kniess
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Krystalco LLC 2015 Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or
whole, without express written consent is prohibited.
Update - - 2/4/2015 (Wednesday) SOLAR POWERS ‘HIDDEN’ ELECTRIC BONUS
I’m going to take care of some housekeeping matters before I get into the down and dirty numbers for January.
#1 I got an email last month that informed me
there are advertisers on my blog pushing 0 Down – lease/purchase solar panel
offers along with solar panel finance deals.
The email was careful to point out that I preach against those things so
why are they advertised on my blog?
This is a
free blog. I pay nothing for it. In return any advertiser is free to plug
their goods. To be clear, I do not, have
not and until anyone can show me how you can get a reasonable ROI with 0 down –
lease/purchase or financing solar panels, I will not endorse, recommend, or
encourage any solar panel deal with the above options. Cash is the ONLY way to make it work with a reasonable
ROI. Any ad that appears on this blog is the right of the advertiser but not endorsed by me.
#2 The
following is a quote from my last month’s blog entry, “January should have an abundance of
sunny days which will put us in positive territory for the month and help make
up for the December shortfall.” I want
to take a minute to correct any misconception that might be taken from that
quote.
There
are 3 things that can never happen – 1)
You can never make up for lost sleep. 2) You are
never playing with the houses money in a casino. 3) You
cannot make up for lost solar electric production in the future.
Let me
elaborate. You plan on sleeping 9 hours
tonight but you only get 8. Tomorrow is
a new day and yesterday is gone. If you
get nine hours sleep the next night that’s nine hours for that day and has
nothing to do with yesterday.
You win
money in a casino and continue to play because you FALSELY deceive yourself
into believing you are playing with the houses money. WRONG!
The second you win that money it is yours. It no longer has anything to do with the
house. You are always playing with your
money. Let’s say you win 10 grand. You will pay the tax on it because it is your
money. You can damn well be sure the
casino isn’t going to pay your tax. If
it was their money they would pay it.
Casino owner’s love guests that believe when they win they are playing
with the houses money. It makes it
easier for the house to get that money back and then some.
For the
same reason you cannot catch up on lost sleep, you cannot make up for lost
solar electric in the future. As the old
song lyric goes, “that was yesterday, and yesterdays gone.”
As
promised, here’s the story of the ‘hidden’ electric bonus by going solar…..
What I’m
about to share with you applies to NVEnergy and any other power company that
charges those annoying little fees based on electricity delivered. The fees I’m referring to are things like
Temporary Green Power Financing (TRED), Energy Efficiency Charge (EE), and
Universal Energy Charge to name a few.
These only amount to a fraction of a penny per kWh (TRED is .00068, EE
is .00319, and Universal Energy Charge = .0039 as of the time I wrote this) but
added up to around $2 on my last bill.
Because of the low cost, I often refer to these as ‘short’ fees.
This will
only work if you are on a standard rate schedule. It’s also counter intuitive to what you may
currently believe.
Solars
‘hidden’ bonus is based on the fact that during the daylight hours you are
generating more than you are using. You
are also using some of what you are generating at the time it’s made and it is
NOT being sent to or stored by your electric utility. In other words, it’s not going through the
utility company’s meter. You made it. You use it.
It’s yours. It’s gone. It’s not metered by the power company.
You’ve
probably been told, especially if you were on TOU, it’s less expensive to use
electricity during non-peak evening and overnight hours. Let’s say you have laundry, vacuuming, need
to run the dishwasher, and other electric using acts that could be done during
the day or evening or night. If you are
solar, do them between 9 am - 4 pm and spread them out so you are not using all
of this energy in a short period of time.
By doing that you will be using the electric as it is made, it won’t go
through the meter and you won’t be paying those short fees on it. Oh, and you’ll still be making excess
electric that will be usable during the dark hours, keep in mind that delivered
electric will go through the power company’s meter and is subject to those damn
fees.
To further
prove my point, last month, prior to going solar, I would have typically have
used about 23 kWh per day. After going
solar my delivered rate showed at 16 kWh per day. Did going solar magically cause me to use 7
kWh per day less? No. I’m using those 7 kWh per day with laundry,
using the dishwasher, running the furnace or air conditioner. Because I’m using at the time it is being
made it never gets into the NVEnergy meter.
Now you understand why I call it ‘hidden’ electricity.
Okay, so
much for housekeeping and the ‘hidden’ bonus, let’s get to the January numbers.
The power
company delivered 461 kWh, while I made 501.
This adds 40 kWh back into my future use column leaving me with 221 kWh I
can use in the future. My bill was
$12.75 meter fee + 5% tax + a couple of nuisance fees + the 43 cents that I
didn’t pay last month because it would have cost more to mail it than the bill was
worth + (are you ready for this B.S.) I got charged .01 as a late charge on the
.43 cents.
Again this
month, the jury is still out on my NVEnergy PUC complaint.
With warmer
weather in February and longer amounts of daylight my power usage will drop and
yield a larger amount of accrued kWh going into March. I’m seeing about 80 kWh in my crystal
ball.
Come back next month and see for
sure.
Update - - 3/6/2015 (Friday)
DAILY SOLAR INFORMATION AT ONE LOCATION
As of this
point I’ve given you just about all you need to know for going solar. So with all of the knowledge you now have
I’ll start making my monthly updates much shorter.
I’ve decided
to place my daily solar information all in one place so you can access it
easily. At the link I’m about to share
with you, you will be able to see my daily, weekly, and monthly solar
production. With a few clicks you can
also see it hourly by the day. You will
also be able to compare it with my outdoor webcam which will show you cloud
cover. In addition you can see the solar
radiation graph from my weather center.
If you combine all of this data you will get a comprehensive look at the
making of solar electric. How cool is
that? I’m also inviting you to bookmark
and share the link to this website.
Check it out often. That mystery
website is www.weather89014.com . Simply slide
down to the solar information section and you’ll find it all.
Of course,
if there is any earth shaking new solar things you need to know about you’ll
find it here on my blog.
So the
future at this blog looks like this:
Now through
August you will get a monthly solar production update. By that point I will have a year + of solar
data from NVEnergy bills and you will get an idea of potential savings. The only missing piece of the puzzle now is
the value of my Portfolio Energy Credits and how much they will be worth. That number will be the final item needed to
get the actual ROI. When that happens I
will most certainly let you know and I’ll give a quick briefing on how it all
works. That is all handled by NVTREC and
you can check it out at www.nvtrec.com .
Oh, the jury
continues to remain out on my NVPUC complaint.
February, by
the numbers, goes like this: We used 323
kWh. We made a whooping 648 kWh. That gives us an additional 325 kWh in our
electric piggy bank. Our available total
is now at 546 kWh. March should exceed
February and that works for us. Keep in
mind that during July and August we will be using much of this excess on air
conditioning. Our February bill was
strictly meter charge, those damn nuisance fees, & 5% tax on the meter for
a total of $14.33. The bill should hover
at this point for the next several months and if we make enough extra juice
maybe all of 2015.
We’ll be
back around this time in April.
UPDATE - - 4/6/2015 (MONDAY) MARCH MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
I knew March
would be a great month for solar and WOW was I right. We used a bit more electric because we had to
add an hour daily to our pool pump runtime and we started using the air conditioner,
but still the numbers were great.
We sent
NVEnergy 692 kWh and we used 328. That
means we added 364 kWh to our existing 546 for a future usable total of 910
kWh. Our actual bill was 1 penny more
than February (translation $14.34).
The wheels
of justice continue to turn slowly and the jury is still out on my NVPUC
complaint.
Hope you’ll
be back around this time in May.
Update - -
5/8/2015 (Friday) APRIL MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
We used more
air conditioning in April and it was still our second best month for banking
additional kWh for summer.
We used 402
kWh. We generated 732 kWh and sent it
off to NVEnergy. Some simple math will
show you we got an additional 330 kWh added to our existing 910 for a bank total
of 1240 heading into May. Our extra a.c.
run added some short fees to our bill making it a total of $14.56.
May marks
our first year of solar energy and the total number of PEC for the year is 30593.395. The number I keep hearing on the PEC value is
.058 cents per PEC. If that number ends
up being correct it means there will eventually be a check coming our way for
$1774.28. That number is $500 per year more than I
originally calculated for my ROI. Bottom
line on this is if all things are equal in the upcoming years, our ROI will be
5 years and 9 months. That is 9 months
sooner than my original calculation.
Extrapolating the numbers we will have saved and earned an additional
$52,975 over 25 years with a >8% ROI.
In the current economy, 8% ROI is pretty damn good.
The jury is
still out on my NVPUC complaint.
We’ve got 2
months to go until we have a full year without being on TOU. Then there is the first sale of PEC which
will help verify the numbers above.
I’ll keep
you posted and hope you’ll be back around this time next month.
URGENT UPDATE URGENT . . . . 5/11/2015 (Monday) PLEASE SHARE THIS...... URGENT
There is a wonderful solar article on page 16 of the May 18,
2015 edition of ‘TIME’. The article is
titled “POWER STRUGGLE” and was written by Emily Barone.
This article highlights a bad strategy being used by power
companies that will pit solar owners against all other power consumers by
putting the blame for future electricity rate increases on the backs of solar
owners. The argument is solar owners pay
much less, thus forcing upgrades and infrastructure costs to be spread over
fewer customers, which will mean higher electric rates.
These are the same power companies that tell the general
public they are pro-solar. I believe
they are, however, they are only pro-solar if they own it and control it. If you own it, they are not pro-solar.
Within the article are some important numbers that I have
posted here before:
1)
Less than 1 percent of the entire nation’s power
comes from, you guessed it, solar.
2) More than half of that less than 1% (.6%)
comes from large scale solar projects owned by or
financed by the electric
companies.
3)
The remaining .4% comes from non-profits,
businesses and home owners solar systems.
4)
In actuality .2% is from home owners.
These power companies want us to believe that .2% of its
customer base will be responsible for future rate increases. REALLY?
Keep in mind these are the same utility companies that have
powerful Washington D.C. lobbyists to keep the company wheels greased.
800 POUND GORILLA
Think of it like this…..there is a 40 pound boy in a small
room with an angry 800 pound gorilla. If
a fight breaks out what do you think will happen? Answer – The ape will rip that little kid
into pieces.
Now think of the 40 pound kid as .2% of homeowners that
are scattered about and new to the solar game.
The gorilla is power companies with decades of experience in knowing how
to get what they want.
So how does the little kid cope with that kind of situation?
1) Face
the reality of what you are up against.
2) Tell everyone that will listen about what is happening.
3) Get as many people to help as possible.
I already understand #1 and now you do too.
#2 is about www.facebook.com/esolarhoc
As for #3, this is where you come in. Visit the above page. Like it.
Share it. Get the word out.
If you are wondering why the Electric Companies are taking
on this battle so early in the game, it’s because of what I call the ‘Beetle’
effect. In the early and mid 60’s
Volkswagen was importing a small amount of VW Beetles into the U.S.
market. The Big 3 in Detroit laughed
saying import autos would never be a big thing in America. VW’s were in the $600 range brand new and you
could have any color provided it was black, white, or VW Yellow. Long story – short, that less than a fraction
of one percent grew, and Grew, and GREW.
The Electric Utilities are unnecessarily afraid of the ‘Beetle’
effect. There is always a point of
market saturation and ever changing better technologies that should really
scare the beegeeziz out of them. Personally, if I owned an electric company I
would be afraid of cheap hydrogen power cells that could be refueled, generate
electricity and power a home.
UPDATE - - - 5/18/15 (MONDAY) PROOF I'M CORRECT ABOUT THE ABOVE UPDATE
Read this article from Bloomberg News. http://goo.gl/xuGcej
Anyway, please visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/esolarhoc ,
spread the word and get on board.
Update - - 6/5/2015 (Friday)
MAY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
May is usually our best month for homemade electricity but
this year it tanked. We had abnormally
high amounts of cloud cover that kept us at around 93% of our expected
amount. On the plus side the cloudiness
helped keep our temperatures cooler so we saved on running the a.c.
By the numbers for May – Used 420 kWh – Made 544 for a
surplus of 124 kWh. Add those last three digits to our existing
1240 and we now have a reserve of 1364 kWh hours as we head into the hottest
months of summer.
No news on the NVPUC complaint.
Hope you visit again in July.
Update - -
7/6/2015 (Monday) JUNE MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
Since
going solar, NVEnergy has swapped out our meter 3 times. The first was because we went solar. Number two was when I dumped Time of
Use. Just last week they changed it again
to put on a net smart meter. Rest
assured I’ll be watching this new meter very carefully. Trust but verify.
We
made slightly more than the projected amount of solar electric for June by only
by a meager .03 MWh. Five cloudy days
hurt us and also June was nothing short of HOT with a few record tying days. Bottom line is we have now tapped into the
reserve because we used more than we generated.
We started this billing cycle with 1364 extra kWh but by the end of the
cycle we sucked up 324 kWh leaving us a reserve balance of 990 kWh with 2.5 hot
months in front of us. If the next
couple of months are average we will make July with just the basic and short
fees and should be close in making it through August. September, well, I’m thinking we’ll get a bit
of a hit.
This
month’s bill was a buck and change over May.
The exact amount for this bill is $15.68.
Still no news on the NVPUC complaint.
Please visit again in August.
Update - - 8/7/2015 (Friday)
JULY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
This was an exciting month because our first year of solar
energy credits were approved. 27,552
credits are now in our bank. If the
$.059 figure ends up being accurate that is $1625.57. My guesstimate at time of purchase was $1200
per year. That extra will shorten our ROI
time just a bit.
Now for the July wrap.
We used 865 kWh and needed to use 416 kWh from our accrued credits. The actual bill was $15.90. Here’s where things get dicey. We have 574 remaining kWh. If all things are equal to last year we
should use 456 of those next month leaving us only 118 kWh heading into
September. If that’s the case we’ll come
up short about 206 kWh in September and that would give us a September bill of
around $45. A power bill of that size
would be the largest bill I’ve had in the past rolling calendar year.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back again in September.
Update - - 9/4/2015 (Friday)
AUGUST MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
The race is on to see how September ends. After this bill we still have 191 accrued kWh
for next month. That’s good, but I do believe
we’ll come up just a bit short. The two
big factors will be how long it stays hot and how much cloud cover we
have. As I mentioned, the race is
on.
In August we used 777 kWh with 383 coming out of our reserve. The actual bill was $15.64. If we have a bill for actual electric used
next month I now calculate it should be =/< $37.00, which, as I mentioned
last month would be the largest bill in the last rolling calendar year. For us, going solar has worked.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back in October.
Update
- - 10/6/2015 (Tuesday) SEPTEMBER MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
WE DID IT! We made it
through September with our new and accrued solar panel energy. That’s 12 consecutive months. We’re well beyond pleased. We’re thrilled with this outcome. Even better, as we head into our next year we
still have 26 unused accrued kWh. Bottom
line – Robco was conservative in their calculations with our solar panel
system. They calculated we may get a
slightly higher energy bill in both August and September. It’s smart for them to make a conservative
estimate because it makes the system look even better. My more liberal calculations were pretty damn
close. I figured we may get a slight
bill in September only, but even I under shot the power of the panels.
By the numbers - NVEnergy sent us 615 kWh. We sent them 450. That left us 165 short but we had 191 kWh in
reserve leaving us the 26 kWh mentioned above in the bank for the future. The September bill with meter, taxes, and
short fees was $15.19.
Since we have a full 18 months of data my future updates
will be on an ‘as needed’ basis. When we
sell our PECs, I’ll post it. When the
PUC complaint is resolved, I’ll post that too.
When I hear of a scam or lawsuit that’s of interest, you’ll find it
here.
My conclusion on solar panels is if you do it right – you’re
golden. Do it wrong and you’re
screwed.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Update - -
2/12/2016 (Friday) RESPONSE TO NEW SOLAR RATE EVENTS
HOW THE NEVADA PUC JUST KILLED SOLAR
ENERGY, GAVE NVEnergy A RATE HIKE, AND DEALT A BLOW TO ELECTRIC CAR OWNERSHIP
IN THE STATE
I haven’t
seen this kind of destruction by a government entity in my entire
lifetime. By a 3 to nothing vote the NV
PUC just wrecked an industry that should have been a win-win for one of the
handful of states where solar energy totally made sense. It not only made sense but could have
generated untold and now never to be seen $’s.
Faraday and
Elon Musk need to abandon plans in the Silver State IMMEDIATELY. Stop construction and run for cover. This states leadership cannot and should not
be trusted.
I’ve just
checked the numbers – my numbers. I will
recover my solar investment over a period of 12.5 years. Originally it would have been 6-1/2 but now,
should I live long enough I’ll get through this debacle. Thousands and thousands will never see the
light.
Nevada’s
residential solar industry is DEAD. If
you want to finance a solar panel system there is absolutely no way to make it
work and get your money back. If anyone
tells you otherwise, it’s a lie, period.
NVEnergy was
willing, at least saying they were, to grandfather the rate increase over 20
years. Now if they were willing to do
that then they must have known any negative result to the NVEnergy bottom line
would have been minimal at worst. By
letting the rates climb NVEnergy just got an unrequested rate hike.
I know of
some people that went solar in the hopes of getting an electric car in the
future. Not now. In the words of one person regarding a
planned electric vehicle purchase, NOT NOW – NOT EVER.
Now for my
master plan - -
From the following blog:
The BIG Players:
Gov. Sandoval – talks the ‘Green’ talk, but does he walk the ‘Green’
walk?
The NV Legislature:
Some of which have their hands in the pockets of NVEnergy, taxpayer
pockets, and the pockets of some big players selling and installing solar
panels.
Senator Harry Reid:
Has one hand in the pocket of NVEnergy and the other hand in taxpayer pockets.
NVEnergy: The big
power that helped create the big mess.
A few companies selling solar: Stretched the truth to customers sucking them
into the solar creator.
The Small players:
Getting burned by solar big time are the residential customers of NVEnergy.
The NV Public Utilities commission: Trying to get it right but are challenged at
every turn.
The simple fact:
Southern Nevada, with an abundance of sunshine, should be the nation’s
leader in production of solar electricity from all possible sources, which
includes commercial, business, non-commercial, and residential energy
users. All of the above players have
helped turned the simple fact into a convoluted nightmare with little sunshine
to generate solar.
The detailed story:
Prior to January 1, 2016 NVEnergy never purchased excess
electricity generated by solar panels.
Solar customers were given Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs). Any excess electricity generated by panels
was credited to your electric bill.
These were known as accrued kWh.
In the spring and fall some, NOT
ALL, solar owners would generate accrued kWh. Those accrued kWh would then be used by the
owner during the hot summer months and a couple of the winter months. Part of the original solar agreement was
that solar panel installations could not exceed 10% above the previous 12
months of electrical use.
NVEnergy could purchase PECs to meet federal mandated
renewable energy standards, but they never bought accrued kWh. PECs are NOT the same as accrued kWh. PEC’s are from some nebulous mathematical
formula. Kilowatt hours (kWh) are the
real deal. These are generated from the
actual solar panels and are metered.
Make no mistake NVEnergy is no friend of residential solar
owners. Residential NVEnergy customers
are the bread and butter users of NVEnergy and NVEnergy wants it all. Nationally about .25% or ¼ of 1% of solar
energy comes from RESIDENTIAL SOLAR. In
Southern Nevada that number is right around 2%.
NVEnergy wants you to believe that 2% of the residential customer that
have gone solar is going to dramatically push up the rates for the other
98%. FACT: NVEnergy’s own numbers DO NOT SUPPORT
THAT. According to NVEnergy the growth
rate for Southern Nevada is 3.63%. That
number is 1.63% above the 2% that have defected to solar. NVEnergy does not mind losing some government
buildings, schools, and non-profit organizations to solar panels. That gives the company bragging rights about
how solar friendly they are and it is simply good PR.
The NVEnergy strategy is simple. Get those that don’t have solar to hate those
that do. Convince the ‘don’t haves’ that
the ‘do haves’ will be the reason for future rate increases. Forget reality that shows otherwise, this is
a perception game.
This is as equally important as anything negative about
NVEnergy. There have been some
unscrupulous and disingenuous large solar companies that have been selling
solar installations on false promises and, in some cases, out and out
lies. Rent to own, lease to own, or
financing a solar installation is a horrible idea. The math on getting a reasonable return on
investment didn’t work in the past and still doesn’t work. I have yet to have anybody show me
otherwise. This type of salesmanship and
installation practice should have been stopped before it ever got started. If you bought a residential solar system
under the above conditions and you are mad at NVEnergy you are picking on the
wrong company. You should be after the
company that sold you on it or simply blame yourself for a bad decision and
move on.
The Politicians (Governor ‘Sunshine’ Sandoval, the NV
Legislature and Harry Reid):
Many, if not all, of the above have taken political
donations from NVEnergy. Some, if not
all, have also accepted money from SolarCity.
That puts any elected hack that did it into one hell of a pickle. You can’t be beholdin’ to two opposite
entities. Even worse for governor
‘Sunshine’ is how he led the charge in convincing the legislature on what
wonderful deal Elon Musk’s battery plant would be for Nevada. Now that NVEnergy and the NVPUC has neutered
SolarCity, ‘Sunshine’ must be more than a little worried about what would
happen if ‘Battery Man’ (Musk) pulls the plug on Reno. Note to ‘Gov.’ - - In the 1970’s Volkswagen
did just that in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.
They built a VW Rabbit manufacturing plant with huge state concessions
and tax breaks. After promising years of
prosperity on this deal the plant lasted one year. It cost the PA tax payers millions.
It’s not totally correct to put the blame for this debacle
on the NV Public Utilities Commission.
Under staffed and over worked, I believe some improperly applied
pressure led to a hasty and, there’s no nice way to say this, bad
decision.
So where does this leave solar owners? I hope this will lead you to follow my
decision.
January 1, 2016 NVEnergy started buying my excess electricity. No more accrued credits. My bill shows they bought it all, which the
way I see it, now makes me an electric company.
I manufacture and now sell electricity.
Certainly that was not by my design.
But now that I am electric company I am entitled to the following:
11)
To negotiate rates and PUC hearings on such
rates.
22)
To be paid monthly by check and not in credits
by NVEnergy. After all of those years of
paying my bills on time I am entitled to the same courtesy.
33) If NVEnergy does not pay on time I am entitled
to late fees.
44)
I’m entitled to legal representation and have
the rates of such representation included into negotiated rate paid by
NVEnergy. You can damn well bet NVEnergy
has lawyers on their staff.
55)
NVEnergy should be subject to payment of the
same short fees (nuisance fees) on my bill that I
pay on my monthly bill.
66)
All of my years in Southern Nevada I had no
choice but to buy electricity from NVEnergy.
NVEnergy should have no choice and should be mandated to buy mine.
77)
As an electric company I should be granted the
right to put as many solar panels on my
property as permitted by building
codes.
At the current time I am shopping for legal representation
for my electric company. Maybe I can
find a legal beagle to represent all of those that join the idea presented
here. My goal is to gain a decent ROI,
just like NVEnergy’s goal is to get a decent ROI.
Actually I would love to meet with Governor Sandoval, any
and all interested members of the Nevada Legislature, NVEnergy and/or the
NVPUC. From coast to coast this state is
becoming the joke of solar energy and that should have never happened.
Final note:
My electric company already meets federal guidelines for the amount of
electricity generated by renewable resources.
If you are a solar owner please join me. Contact nevadawx@yahoo.com Subject:
Solar owner.
Update - - 3/11/2016 (Friday) THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE SO FAR!!!!
Finally Some Good
News for NV Residential Solar Panel Owners
You may have already guessed any good news did not
come from Gov. Sunless Sandoval, his Carson City Cronies, NVEnergy nor the NV
PUC. This good news comes from a white
knight company that really, really, really wanted to help us.
I’m sure most of you, if not all of you, know Warren (stick
it to you) Buffett’s local liars club, more oft than not referred to as
NVEnergy is no longer interested in purchasing Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs)
generated from solar. A system they
helped create and signed off on is DEAD.
That leaves those of us who own our PECs, aka Renewable Energy
Certificates (REC’s) in other states, SOL (Shit out of Luck).
Now along comes a source of illumination and it’s not from
the sun, however, it is from a local solar company. Enter and welcome with open arms A
to Z Solar Systems.
If you bought your system outright, did not take the rip-off
NVEnergy rebate, and own your REC’s help has arrived. I want to state upfront A to Z Solars
intentions are not purely philanthropic.
There is money in it for them, however, they are taking the risk and
deserve some return on that.
A to Z Solar Sytems is the ONLY entity in the state of NV
actively marketing and selling RECs from both residential and small commercial
solar installs. They can sell across
state lines which will get the best price for you and best 15% commission for
them. You commit for 1 year at a time
and can bail at the end of any year commitment.
In short they track, monitor, and sell you RECs and you get
the check, less 15%. How much will you
get? Hey, prices vary but anything is
better than the boot in your a$$ you are currently getting.
Up front you need to know this.....you need a digital meter
accurate within 00.2% on your solar panels.
Analog meters are only accurate within 1% and that’s simply not good
enough. That digital meter is going to
set you back 100 beans ($). A to Z will
sell and install this for you.
I suspect sometime in the future some other local solar
saviors will jump on board and that might cause some competition on commission
rates.
I’ll tell you this I jumped at this opportunity almost
instantly. Every day you wait is more
PECs (RECs) down the rat hole.
Contact info for A to Z Solar Systems is (702) 831 0313
Physical address 4012
S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite K-341 Las Vegas,
NV 89013
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
YOU CAN STILL GO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR IN NEVADA....BUT
In case you’ve been living in a cave the past few months,
the Public Utilities Commission in Nevada blocked out the sunshine for
residential solar in January of 2016.
Along with many many others, my initial reaction was
NVEnergy got their wish, Gov. ‘Sunless’ Sandoval sold out to big electric, and
the PUCN was a rubber stamp for helping Warren Buffett’s new toy, NVEnergy. To me, all of the above still holds
true. The next statement I’ve repeatedly
made needs revision. I’ve been rightly
quoted as saying, “Residential Solar is dead in Nevada.” After additional research and some
adjustments to my residential solar model I can now tell you residential solar is
not dead, however it is seriously wounded.
The fact is you can make residential solar still work in your favor BUT
you have to be very careful in how you do it.
Residential Solar now requires more homework than
before. Your Return on Investment will
be less and the ROI will take a longer period of time which makes your age now
factor into the equation.
ENTER THE NEW REALITIES
I’m going to try and make this as simple as I can and
upfront I’ll tell you many of the old rules of residential solar still apply,
so I’ll start with them first.
1) Shop Around
(old reality)
Get bids on your project from
multiple companies. I strongly suggest
talking with Robco Electric www.robcoelectricinc.com
and A to Z Solar Systems www.NVRECs.com before
you sign on the line.
2)
Put up the maximum amount of panels allowed for
compliance (old
reality/new reality)
You objective is to zero out you electric
bill as much as possible. The only way
to do this is to load up on panels. Prior to January 1 you were limited to a
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
3)
Head South without any obstructions (old
reality)
Make sure you panels are installed
on the South side of your home and there are no obstructions blocking out the
sunshine. If you don’t have a good
southerly heading without anything blocking the sun, don’t waste your money on
solar.
4)
PAY CASH
(old reality)
If you finance solar panels or do a
lease/purchase (which I have always said is the worst idea ever) you will find
it nearly impossible to get your money back.
I’ve actually talked with some people who, under the new rules, are now
telling me they are paying more with their lease/purchase solar then they would
have paid in electric bills. In short,
they will never get their money back and it’s costing them MORE. Make no mistake about this, having
lease/purchase solar panels on you home will make it more difficult to
sell. Especially if the company that did
the deal pulled out of Nevada.
5)
Make sure your installation comes with Enphase
Inverters (new reality)
I’ll explain this with #6.
6)
Get set up to sell your Renewable Energy Credits
(new reality)
Prior to January
1st of 2016 Nevada had Portfolio Energy Credits. Initially these were yours to sell, however it got to a point where
NVEnergy had no plans on buying them.
PECs had a multiplier applied to them which really meant nothing. Other states call them RECs and have no
multiplier. Here is where you must have
contact with A to Z Solar. As of this
writing they are the only company in Nevada that can sell your RECs. They get 10% of the money and you get
90%. Hey, 90% is better than a rake in
the face. To meet specifications on
selling RECs you must have Enphase Inverters on your solar panels and you must
have a digital solar meter installed that is accurate within 2/10’s of 1%. That will cost you 100 bucks and A to Z Solar
will handle that.
7)
Your AGE
is now a factor on going solar (new reality)
When we decided to go solar I was
64. Under the old rules I calculated a
6-1/2 year pay back with an overall 11% ROI.
Under the new system my payback is now 12 years with an overall 6%
ROI. By the time we get our initial
investment back I will be 76. In today’s
economic climate a 6% return on investment is decent, not great, but
decent. I feel pretty confident I’d be
around in my early 70’s to make all of this work. I’m in good health and I’m hoping now 76 plus
a few is livable. If you decide to go
residential solar, the younger you are the better. Fifty-five seems like a pretty decent age. Depending on your health, even 60 might
work. Beyond 60 you become boarder line
on making it work. It’s hard to
appreciate an ROI when you’re busy taking an eternal dirt nap.
You now have 3 new realities to consider before
putting solar panels on your home. It’s
still doable but not quite as profitable.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Stop back from time to time and see what’s
new. I’ll post update information on my
FB page and twitter.
YOUR INVITED - TO CHECK OUT MY NEW BOOK Behind the Lens & Behind the Microphone
Real, raw and sometimes raunchy these are the behind-the-scenes television and radio stories.
These are the events you were never meant to know.
Update - - 3/6/2015 (Friday) DAILY SOLAR INFORMATION AT ONE LOCATION
As of this
point I’ve given you just about all you need to know for going solar. So with all of the knowledge you now have
I’ll start making my monthly updates much shorter.
I’ve decided
to place my daily solar information all in one place so you can access it
easily. At the link I’m about to share
with you, you will be able to see my daily, weekly, and monthly solar
production. With a few clicks you can
also see it hourly by the day. You will
also be able to compare it with my outdoor webcam which will show you cloud
cover. In addition you can see the solar
radiation graph from my weather center.
If you combine all of this data you will get a comprehensive look at the
making of solar electric. How cool is
that? I’m also inviting you to bookmark
and share the link to this website.
Check it out often. That mystery
website is www.weather89014.com . Simply slide
down to the solar information section and you’ll find it all.
Of course,
if there is any earth shaking new solar things you need to know about you’ll
find it here on my blog.
So the
future at this blog looks like this:
Now through
August you will get a monthly solar production update. By that point I will have a year + of solar
data from NVEnergy bills and you will get an idea of potential savings. The only missing piece of the puzzle now is
the value of my Portfolio Energy Credits and how much they will be worth. That number will be the final item needed to
get the actual ROI. When that happens I
will most certainly let you know and I’ll give a quick briefing on how it all
works. That is all handled by NVTREC and
you can check it out at www.nvtrec.com .
Oh, the jury
continues to remain out on my NVPUC complaint.
February, by
the numbers, goes like this: We used 323
kWh. We made a whooping 648 kWh. That gives us an additional 325 kWh in our
electric piggy bank. Our available total
is now at 546 kWh. March should exceed
February and that works for us. Keep in
mind that during July and August we will be using much of this excess on air
conditioning. Our February bill was
strictly meter charge, those damn nuisance fees, & 5% tax on the meter for
a total of $14.33. The bill should hover
at this point for the next several months and if we make enough extra juice
maybe all of 2015.
We’ll be
back around this time in April.
UPDATE - - 4/6/2015 (MONDAY) MARCH MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
I knew March
would be a great month for solar and WOW was I right. We used a bit more electric because we had to
add an hour daily to our pool pump runtime and we started using the air conditioner,
but still the numbers were great.
We sent
NVEnergy 692 kWh and we used 328. That
means we added 364 kWh to our existing 546 for a future usable total of 910
kWh. Our actual bill was 1 penny more
than February (translation $14.34).
The wheels
of justice continue to turn slowly and the jury is still out on my NVPUC
complaint.
Hope you’ll
be back around this time in May.
Update - -
5/8/2015 (Friday) APRIL MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
We used more
air conditioning in April and it was still our second best month for banking
additional kWh for summer.
We used 402
kWh. We generated 732 kWh and sent it
off to NVEnergy. Some simple math will
show you we got an additional 330 kWh added to our existing 910 for a bank total
of 1240 heading into May. Our extra a.c.
run added some short fees to our bill making it a total of $14.56.
May marks
our first year of solar energy and the total number of PEC for the year is 30593.395. The number I keep hearing on the PEC value is
.058 cents per PEC. If that number ends
up being correct it means there will eventually be a check coming our way for
$1774.28. That number is $500 per year more than I
originally calculated for my ROI. Bottom
line on this is if all things are equal in the upcoming years, our ROI will be
5 years and 9 months. That is 9 months
sooner than my original calculation.
Extrapolating the numbers we will have saved and earned an additional
$52,975 over 25 years with a >8% ROI.
In the current economy, 8% ROI is pretty damn good.
The jury is
still out on my NVPUC complaint.
We’ve got 2
months to go until we have a full year without being on TOU. Then there is the first sale of PEC which
will help verify the numbers above.
I’ll keep
you posted and hope you’ll be back around this time next month.
URGENT UPDATE URGENT . . . . 5/11/2015 (Monday) PLEASE SHARE THIS...... URGENT
There is a wonderful solar article on page 16 of the May 18,
2015 edition of ‘TIME’. The article is
titled “POWER STRUGGLE” and was written by Emily Barone.
This article highlights a bad strategy being used by power
companies that will pit solar owners against all other power consumers by
putting the blame for future electricity rate increases on the backs of solar
owners. The argument is solar owners pay
much less, thus forcing upgrades and infrastructure costs to be spread over
fewer customers, which will mean higher electric rates.
These are the same power companies that tell the general
public they are pro-solar. I believe
they are, however, they are only pro-solar if they own it and control it. If you own it, they are not pro-solar.
Within the article are some important numbers that I have
posted here before:
1)
Less than 1 percent of the entire nation’s power
comes from, you guessed it, solar.
2) More than half of that less than 1% (.6%)
comes from large scale solar projects owned by or
financed by the electric
companies.
3)
The remaining .4% comes from non-profits,
businesses and home owners solar systems.
4)
In actuality .2% is from home owners.
These power companies want us to believe that .2% of its
customer base will be responsible for future rate increases. REALLY?
Keep in mind these are the same utility companies that have
powerful Washington D.C. lobbyists to keep the company wheels greased.
800 POUND GORILLA
Think of it like this…..there is a 40 pound boy in a small
room with an angry 800 pound gorilla. If
a fight breaks out what do you think will happen? Answer – The ape will rip that little kid
into pieces.
Now think of the 40 pound kid as .2% of homeowners that
are scattered about and new to the solar game.
The gorilla is power companies with decades of experience in knowing how
to get what they want.
So how does the little kid cope with that kind of situation?
1) Face
the reality of what you are up against.
2) Tell everyone that will listen about what is happening.
3) Get as many people to help as possible.
I already understand #1 and now you do too.
#2 is about www.facebook.com/esolarhoc
As for #3, this is where you come in. Visit the above page. Like it.
Share it. Get the word out.
If you are wondering why the Electric Companies are taking
on this battle so early in the game, it’s because of what I call the ‘Beetle’
effect. In the early and mid 60’s
Volkswagen was importing a small amount of VW Beetles into the U.S.
market. The Big 3 in Detroit laughed
saying import autos would never be a big thing in America. VW’s were in the $600 range brand new and you
could have any color provided it was black, white, or VW Yellow. Long story – short, that less than a fraction
of one percent grew, and Grew, and GREW.
The Electric Utilities are unnecessarily afraid of the ‘Beetle’
effect. There is always a point of
market saturation and ever changing better technologies that should really
scare the beegeeziz out of them. Personally, if I owned an electric company I
would be afraid of cheap hydrogen power cells that could be refueled, generate
electricity and power a home.
UPDATE - - - 5/18/15 (MONDAY) PROOF I'M CORRECT ABOUT THE ABOVE UPDATE
Read this article from Bloomberg News. http://goo.gl/xuGcej
Anyway, please visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/esolarhoc ,
spread the word and get on board.
Update - - 6/5/2015 (Friday)
MAY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
May is usually our best month for homemade electricity but
this year it tanked. We had abnormally
high amounts of cloud cover that kept us at around 93% of our expected
amount. On the plus side the cloudiness
helped keep our temperatures cooler so we saved on running the a.c.
By the numbers for May – Used 420 kWh – Made 544 for a
surplus of 124 kWh. Add those last three digits to our existing
1240 and we now have a reserve of 1364 kWh hours as we head into the hottest
months of summer.
No news on the NVPUC complaint.
Hope you visit again in July.
Update - -
7/6/2015 (Monday) JUNE MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
Since
going solar, NVEnergy has swapped out our meter 3 times. The first was because we went solar. Number two was when I dumped Time of
Use. Just last week they changed it again
to put on a net smart meter. Rest
assured I’ll be watching this new meter very carefully. Trust but verify.
We
made slightly more than the projected amount of solar electric for June by only
by a meager .03 MWh. Five cloudy days
hurt us and also June was nothing short of HOT with a few record tying days. Bottom line is we have now tapped into the
reserve because we used more than we generated.
We started this billing cycle with 1364 extra kWh but by the end of the
cycle we sucked up 324 kWh leaving us a reserve balance of 990 kWh with 2.5 hot
months in front of us. If the next
couple of months are average we will make July with just the basic and short
fees and should be close in making it through August. September, well, I’m thinking we’ll get a bit
of a hit.
This
month’s bill was a buck and change over May.
The exact amount for this bill is $15.68.
Still no news on the NVPUC complaint.
Please visit again in August.
Update - - 8/7/2015 (Friday)
JULY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
This was an exciting month because our first year of solar
energy credits were approved. 27,552
credits are now in our bank. If the
$.059 figure ends up being accurate that is $1625.57. My guesstimate at time of purchase was $1200
per year. That extra will shorten our ROI
time just a bit.
Now for the July wrap.
We used 865 kWh and needed to use 416 kWh from our accrued credits. The actual bill was $15.90. Here’s where things get dicey. We have 574 remaining kWh. If all things are equal to last year we
should use 456 of those next month leaving us only 118 kWh heading into
September. If that’s the case we’ll come
up short about 206 kWh in September and that would give us a September bill of
around $45. A power bill of that size
would be the largest bill I’ve had in the past rolling calendar year.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back again in September.
Update - - 9/4/2015 (Friday)
AUGUST MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
The race is on to see how September ends. After this bill we still have 191 accrued kWh
for next month. That’s good, but I do believe
we’ll come up just a bit short. The two
big factors will be how long it stays hot and how much cloud cover we
have. As I mentioned, the race is
on.
In August we used 777 kWh with 383 coming out of our reserve. The actual bill was $15.64. If we have a bill for actual electric used
next month I now calculate it should be =/< $37.00, which, as I mentioned
last month would be the largest bill in the last rolling calendar year. For us, going solar has worked.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back in October.
Update
- - 10/6/2015 (Tuesday) SEPTEMBER MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
WE DID IT! We made it
through September with our new and accrued solar panel energy. That’s 12 consecutive months. We’re well beyond pleased. We’re thrilled with this outcome. Even better, as we head into our next year we
still have 26 unused accrued kWh. Bottom
line – Robco was conservative in their calculations with our solar panel
system. They calculated we may get a
slightly higher energy bill in both August and September. It’s smart for them to make a conservative
estimate because it makes the system look even better. My more liberal calculations were pretty damn
close. I figured we may get a slight
bill in September only, but even I under shot the power of the panels.
By the numbers - NVEnergy sent us 615 kWh. We sent them 450. That left us 165 short but we had 191 kWh in
reserve leaving us the 26 kWh mentioned above in the bank for the future. The September bill with meter, taxes, and
short fees was $15.19.
Since we have a full 18 months of data my future updates
will be on an ‘as needed’ basis. When we
sell our PECs, I’ll post it. When the
PUC complaint is resolved, I’ll post that too.
When I hear of a scam or lawsuit that’s of interest, you’ll find it
here.
My conclusion on solar panels is if you do it right – you’re
golden. Do it wrong and you’re
screwed.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Update - -
2/12/2016 (Friday) RESPONSE TO NEW SOLAR RATE EVENTS
HOW THE NEVADA PUC JUST KILLED SOLAR
ENERGY, GAVE NVEnergy A RATE HIKE, AND DEALT A BLOW TO ELECTRIC CAR OWNERSHIP
IN THE STATE
I haven’t
seen this kind of destruction by a government entity in my entire
lifetime. By a 3 to nothing vote the NV
PUC just wrecked an industry that should have been a win-win for one of the
handful of states where solar energy totally made sense. It not only made sense but could have
generated untold and now never to be seen $’s.
Faraday and
Elon Musk need to abandon plans in the Silver State IMMEDIATELY. Stop construction and run for cover. This states leadership cannot and should not
be trusted.
I’ve just
checked the numbers – my numbers. I will
recover my solar investment over a period of 12.5 years. Originally it would have been 6-1/2 but now,
should I live long enough I’ll get through this debacle. Thousands and thousands will never see the
light.
Nevada’s
residential solar industry is DEAD. If
you want to finance a solar panel system there is absolutely no way to make it
work and get your money back. If anyone
tells you otherwise, it’s a lie, period.
NVEnergy was
willing, at least saying they were, to grandfather the rate increase over 20
years. Now if they were willing to do
that then they must have known any negative result to the NVEnergy bottom line
would have been minimal at worst. By
letting the rates climb NVEnergy just got an unrequested rate hike.
I know of
some people that went solar in the hopes of getting an electric car in the
future. Not now. In the words of one person regarding a
planned electric vehicle purchase, NOT NOW – NOT EVER.
Now for my
master plan - -
From the following blog:
The BIG Players:
Gov. Sandoval – talks the ‘Green’ talk, but does he walk the ‘Green’
walk?
The NV Legislature:
Some of which have their hands in the pockets of NVEnergy, taxpayer
pockets, and the pockets of some big players selling and installing solar
panels.
Senator Harry Reid:
Has one hand in the pocket of NVEnergy and the other hand in taxpayer pockets.
NVEnergy: The big
power that helped create the big mess.
A few companies selling solar: Stretched the truth to customers sucking them
into the solar creator.
The Small players:
Getting burned by solar big time are the residential customers of NVEnergy.
The NV Public Utilities commission: Trying to get it right but are challenged at
every turn.
The simple fact:
Southern Nevada, with an abundance of sunshine, should be the nation’s
leader in production of solar electricity from all possible sources, which
includes commercial, business, non-commercial, and residential energy
users. All of the above players have
helped turned the simple fact into a convoluted nightmare with little sunshine
to generate solar.
The detailed story:
Prior to January 1, 2016 NVEnergy never purchased excess
electricity generated by solar panels.
Solar customers were given Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs). Any excess electricity generated by panels
was credited to your electric bill.
These were known as accrued kWh.
In the spring and fall some, NOT
ALL, solar owners would generate accrued kWh. Those accrued kWh would then be used by the
owner during the hot summer months and a couple of the winter months. Part of the original solar agreement was
that solar panel installations could not exceed 10% above the previous 12
months of electrical use.
NVEnergy could purchase PECs to meet federal mandated
renewable energy standards, but they never bought accrued kWh. PECs are NOT the same as accrued kWh. PEC’s are from some nebulous mathematical
formula. Kilowatt hours (kWh) are the
real deal. These are generated from the
actual solar panels and are metered.
Make no mistake NVEnergy is no friend of residential solar
owners. Residential NVEnergy customers
are the bread and butter users of NVEnergy and NVEnergy wants it all. Nationally about .25% or ¼ of 1% of solar
energy comes from RESIDENTIAL SOLAR. In
Southern Nevada that number is right around 2%.
NVEnergy wants you to believe that 2% of the residential customer that
have gone solar is going to dramatically push up the rates for the other
98%. FACT: NVEnergy’s own numbers DO NOT SUPPORT
THAT. According to NVEnergy the growth
rate for Southern Nevada is 3.63%. That
number is 1.63% above the 2% that have defected to solar. NVEnergy does not mind losing some government
buildings, schools, and non-profit organizations to solar panels. That gives the company bragging rights about
how solar friendly they are and it is simply good PR.
The NVEnergy strategy is simple. Get those that don’t have solar to hate those
that do. Convince the ‘don’t haves’ that
the ‘do haves’ will be the reason for future rate increases. Forget reality that shows otherwise, this is
a perception game.
This is as equally important as anything negative about
NVEnergy. There have been some
unscrupulous and disingenuous large solar companies that have been selling
solar installations on false promises and, in some cases, out and out
lies. Rent to own, lease to own, or
financing a solar installation is a horrible idea. The math on getting a reasonable return on
investment didn’t work in the past and still doesn’t work. I have yet to have anybody show me
otherwise. This type of salesmanship and
installation practice should have been stopped before it ever got started. If you bought a residential solar system
under the above conditions and you are mad at NVEnergy you are picking on the
wrong company. You should be after the
company that sold you on it or simply blame yourself for a bad decision and
move on.
The Politicians (Governor ‘Sunshine’ Sandoval, the NV
Legislature and Harry Reid):
Many, if not all, of the above have taken political
donations from NVEnergy. Some, if not
all, have also accepted money from SolarCity.
That puts any elected hack that did it into one hell of a pickle. You can’t be beholdin’ to two opposite
entities. Even worse for governor
‘Sunshine’ is how he led the charge in convincing the legislature on what
wonderful deal Elon Musk’s battery plant would be for Nevada. Now that NVEnergy and the NVPUC has neutered
SolarCity, ‘Sunshine’ must be more than a little worried about what would
happen if ‘Battery Man’ (Musk) pulls the plug on Reno. Note to ‘Gov.’ - - In the 1970’s Volkswagen
did just that in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.
They built a VW Rabbit manufacturing plant with huge state concessions
and tax breaks. After promising years of
prosperity on this deal the plant lasted one year. It cost the PA tax payers millions.
It’s not totally correct to put the blame for this debacle
on the NV Public Utilities Commission.
Under staffed and over worked, I believe some improperly applied
pressure led to a hasty and, there’s no nice way to say this, bad
decision.
So where does this leave solar owners? I hope this will lead you to follow my
decision.
January 1, 2016 NVEnergy started buying my excess electricity. No more accrued credits. My bill shows they bought it all, which the
way I see it, now makes me an electric company.
I manufacture and now sell electricity.
Certainly that was not by my design.
But now that I am electric company I am entitled to the following:
11)
To negotiate rates and PUC hearings on such
rates.
22)
To be paid monthly by check and not in credits
by NVEnergy. After all of those years of
paying my bills on time I am entitled to the same courtesy.
33) If NVEnergy does not pay on time I am entitled
to late fees.
44)
I’m entitled to legal representation and have
the rates of such representation included into negotiated rate paid by
NVEnergy. You can damn well bet NVEnergy
has lawyers on their staff.
55)
NVEnergy should be subject to payment of the
same short fees (nuisance fees) on my bill that I
pay on my monthly bill.
66)
All of my years in Southern Nevada I had no
choice but to buy electricity from NVEnergy.
NVEnergy should have no choice and should be mandated to buy mine.
77)
As an electric company I should be granted the
right to put as many solar panels on my
property as permitted by building
codes.
At the current time I am shopping for legal representation
for my electric company. Maybe I can
find a legal beagle to represent all of those that join the idea presented
here. My goal is to gain a decent ROI,
just like NVEnergy’s goal is to get a decent ROI.
Actually I would love to meet with Governor Sandoval, any
and all interested members of the Nevada Legislature, NVEnergy and/or the
NVPUC. From coast to coast this state is
becoming the joke of solar energy and that should have never happened.
Final note:
My electric company already meets federal guidelines for the amount of
electricity generated by renewable resources.
If you are a solar owner please join me. Contact nevadawx@yahoo.com Subject:
Solar owner.
Update - - 3/11/2016 (Friday) THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE SO FAR!!!!
Finally Some Good
News for NV Residential Solar Panel Owners
You may have already guessed any good news did not
come from Gov. Sunless Sandoval, his Carson City Cronies, NVEnergy nor the NV
PUC. This good news comes from a white
knight company that really, really, really wanted to help us.
I’m sure most of you, if not all of you, know Warren (stick
it to you) Buffett’s local liars club, more oft than not referred to as
NVEnergy is no longer interested in purchasing Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs)
generated from solar. A system they
helped create and signed off on is DEAD.
That leaves those of us who own our PECs, aka Renewable Energy
Certificates (REC’s) in other states, SOL (Shit out of Luck).
Now along comes a source of illumination and it’s not from
the sun, however, it is from a local solar company. Enter and welcome with open arms A
to Z Solar Systems.
If you bought your system outright, did not take the rip-off
NVEnergy rebate, and own your REC’s help has arrived. I want to state upfront A to Z Solars
intentions are not purely philanthropic.
There is money in it for them, however, they are taking the risk and
deserve some return on that.
A to Z Solar Sytems is the ONLY entity in the state of NV
actively marketing and selling RECs from both residential and small commercial
solar installs. They can sell across
state lines which will get the best price for you and best 15% commission for
them. You commit for 1 year at a time
and can bail at the end of any year commitment.
In short they track, monitor, and sell you RECs and you get
the check, less 15%. How much will you
get? Hey, prices vary but anything is
better than the boot in your a$$ you are currently getting.
Up front you need to know this.....you need a digital meter
accurate within 00.2% on your solar panels.
Analog meters are only accurate within 1% and that’s simply not good
enough. That digital meter is going to
set you back 100 beans ($). A to Z will
sell and install this for you.
I suspect sometime in the future some other local solar
saviors will jump on board and that might cause some competition on commission
rates.
I’ll tell you this I jumped at this opportunity almost
instantly. Every day you wait is more
PECs (RECs) down the rat hole.
Contact info for A to Z Solar Systems is (702) 831 0313
Physical address 4012
S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite K-341 Las Vegas,
NV 89013
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
YOU CAN STILL GO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR IN NEVADA....BUT
In case you’ve been living in a cave the past few months,
the Public Utilities Commission in Nevada blocked out the sunshine for
residential solar in January of 2016.
Along with many many others, my initial reaction was
NVEnergy got their wish, Gov. ‘Sunless’ Sandoval sold out to big electric, and
the PUCN was a rubber stamp for helping Warren Buffett’s new toy, NVEnergy. To me, all of the above still holds
true. The next statement I’ve repeatedly
made needs revision. I’ve been rightly
quoted as saying, “Residential Solar is dead in Nevada.” After additional research and some
adjustments to my residential solar model I can now tell you residential solar is
not dead, however it is seriously wounded.
The fact is you can make residential solar still work in your favor BUT
you have to be very careful in how you do it.
Residential Solar now requires more homework than
before. Your Return on Investment will
be less and the ROI will take a longer period of time which makes your age now
factor into the equation.
ENTER THE NEW REALITIES
I’m going to try and make this as simple as I can and
upfront I’ll tell you many of the old rules of residential solar still apply,
so I’ll start with them first.
1) Shop Around
(old reality)
Get bids on your project from
multiple companies. I strongly suggest
talking with Robco Electric www.robcoelectricinc.com
and A to Z Solar Systems www.NVRECs.com before
you sign on the line.
2)
Put up the maximum amount of panels allowed for
compliance (old
reality/new reality)
You objective is to zero out you electric
bill as much as possible. The only way
to do this is to load up on panels. Prior to January 1 you were limited to a
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
3)
Head South without any obstructions (old
reality)
Make sure you panels are installed
on the South side of your home and there are no obstructions blocking out the
sunshine. If you don’t have a good
southerly heading without anything blocking the sun, don’t waste your money on
solar.
4)
PAY CASH
(old reality)
If you finance solar panels or do a
lease/purchase (which I have always said is the worst idea ever) you will find
it nearly impossible to get your money back.
I’ve actually talked with some people who, under the new rules, are now
telling me they are paying more with their lease/purchase solar then they would
have paid in electric bills. In short,
they will never get their money back and it’s costing them MORE. Make no mistake about this, having
lease/purchase solar panels on you home will make it more difficult to
sell. Especially if the company that did
the deal pulled out of Nevada.
5)
Make sure your installation comes with Enphase
Inverters (new reality)
I’ll explain this with #6.
6)
Get set up to sell your Renewable Energy Credits
(new reality)
Prior to January
1st of 2016 Nevada had Portfolio Energy Credits. Initially these were yours to sell, however it got to a point where
NVEnergy had no plans on buying them.
PECs had a multiplier applied to them which really meant nothing. Other states call them RECs and have no
multiplier. Here is where you must have
contact with A to Z Solar. As of this
writing they are the only company in Nevada that can sell your RECs. They get 10% of the money and you get
90%. Hey, 90% is better than a rake in
the face. To meet specifications on
selling RECs you must have Enphase Inverters on your solar panels and you must
have a digital solar meter installed that is accurate within 2/10’s of 1%. That will cost you 100 bucks and A to Z Solar
will handle that.
7)
Your AGE
is now a factor on going solar (new reality)
When we decided to go solar I was
64. Under the old rules I calculated a
6-1/2 year pay back with an overall 11% ROI.
Under the new system my payback is now 12 years with an overall 6%
ROI. By the time we get our initial
investment back I will be 76. In today’s
economic climate a 6% return on investment is decent, not great, but
decent. I feel pretty confident I’d be
around in my early 70’s to make all of this work. I’m in good health and I’m hoping now 76 plus
a few is livable. If you decide to go
residential solar, the younger you are the better. Fifty-five seems like a pretty decent age. Depending on your health, even 60 might
work. Beyond 60 you become boarder line
on making it work. It’s hard to
appreciate an ROI when you’re busy taking an eternal dirt nap.
You now have 3 new realities to consider before
putting solar panels on your home. It’s
still doable but not quite as profitable.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Stop back from time to time and see what’s
new. I’ll post update information on my
FB page and twitter.
YOUR INVITED - TO CHECK OUT MY NEW BOOK Behind the Lens & Behind the Microphone
Real, raw and sometimes raunchy these are the behind-the-scenes television and radio stories.
These are the events you were never meant to know.
I knew March
would be a great month for solar and WOW was I right. We used a bit more electric because we had to
add an hour daily to our pool pump runtime and we started using the air conditioner,
but still the numbers were great.
We sent
NVEnergy 692 kWh and we used 328. That
means we added 364 kWh to our existing 546 for a future usable total of 910
kWh. Our actual bill was 1 penny more
than February (translation $14.34).
The wheels
of justice continue to turn slowly and the jury is still out on my NVPUC
complaint.
Hope you’ll
be back around this time in May.
Update - -
5/8/2015 (Friday) APRIL MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
We used more
air conditioning in April and it was still our second best month for banking
additional kWh for summer.
We used 402
kWh. We generated 732 kWh and sent it
off to NVEnergy. Some simple math will
show you we got an additional 330 kWh added to our existing 910 for a bank total
of 1240 heading into May. Our extra a.c.
run added some short fees to our bill making it a total of $14.56.
May marks
our first year of solar energy and the total number of PEC for the year is 30593.395. The number I keep hearing on the PEC value is
.058 cents per PEC. If that number ends
up being correct it means there will eventually be a check coming our way for
$1774.28. That number is $500 per year more than I
originally calculated for my ROI. Bottom
line on this is if all things are equal in the upcoming years, our ROI will be
5 years and 9 months. That is 9 months
sooner than my original calculation.
Extrapolating the numbers we will have saved and earned an additional
$52,975 over 25 years with a >8% ROI.
In the current economy, 8% ROI is pretty damn good.
The jury is
still out on my NVPUC complaint.
We’ve got 2
months to go until we have a full year without being on TOU. Then there is the first sale of PEC which
will help verify the numbers above.
I’ll keep
you posted and hope you’ll be back around this time next month.
Real, raw and sometimes raunchy these are the behind-the-scenes television and radio stories.
These are the events you were never meant to know.
URGENT UPDATE URGENT . . . . 5/11/2015 (Monday) PLEASE SHARE THIS...... URGENT
There is a wonderful solar article on page 16 of the May 18,
2015 edition of ‘TIME’. The article is
titled “POWER STRUGGLE” and was written by Emily Barone.
This article highlights a bad strategy being used by power
companies that will pit solar owners against all other power consumers by
putting the blame for future electricity rate increases on the backs of solar
owners. The argument is solar owners pay
much less, thus forcing upgrades and infrastructure costs to be spread over
fewer customers, which will mean higher electric rates.
These are the same power companies that tell the general
public they are pro-solar. I believe
they are, however, they are only pro-solar if they own it and control it. If you own it, they are not pro-solar.
Within the article are some important numbers that I have
posted here before:
1)
Less than 1 percent of the entire nation’s power
comes from, you guessed it, solar.
2) More than half of that less than 1% (.6%)
comes from large scale solar projects owned by or
financed by the electric
companies.
3)
The remaining .4% comes from non-profits,
businesses and home owners solar systems.
4)
In actuality .2% is from home owners.
These power companies want us to believe that .2% of its
customer base will be responsible for future rate increases. REALLY?
Keep in mind these are the same utility companies that have
powerful Washington D.C. lobbyists to keep the company wheels greased.
800 POUND GORILLA
Think of it like this…..there is a 40 pound boy in a small
room with an angry 800 pound gorilla. If
a fight breaks out what do you think will happen? Answer – The ape will rip that little kid
into pieces.
Now think of the 40 pound kid as .2% of homeowners that
are scattered about and new to the solar game.
The gorilla is power companies with decades of experience in knowing how
to get what they want.
So how does the little kid cope with that kind of situation?
1) Face
the reality of what you are up against.
2) Tell everyone that will listen about what is happening.
3) Get as many people to help as possible.
I already understand #1 and now you do too.
#2 is about www.facebook.com/esolarhoc
As for #3, this is where you come in. Visit the above page. Like it.
Share it. Get the word out.
If you are wondering why the Electric Companies are taking
on this battle so early in the game, it’s because of what I call the ‘Beetle’
effect. In the early and mid 60’s
Volkswagen was importing a small amount of VW Beetles into the U.S.
market. The Big 3 in Detroit laughed
saying import autos would never be a big thing in America. VW’s were in the $600 range brand new and you
could have any color provided it was black, white, or VW Yellow. Long story – short, that less than a fraction
of one percent grew, and Grew, and GREW.
The Electric Utilities are unnecessarily afraid of the ‘Beetle’
effect. There is always a point of
market saturation and ever changing better technologies that should really
scare the beegeeziz out of them. Personally, if I owned an electric company I
would be afraid of cheap hydrogen power cells that could be refueled, generate
electricity and power a home.
UPDATE - - - 5/18/15 (MONDAY) PROOF I'M CORRECT ABOUT THE ABOVE UPDATE
Read this article from Bloomberg News. http://goo.gl/xuGcej
Anyway, please visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/esolarhoc , spread the word and get on board.
UPDATE - - - 5/18/15 (MONDAY) PROOF I'M CORRECT ABOUT THE ABOVE UPDATE
Read this article from Bloomberg News. http://goo.gl/xuGcej
Anyway, please visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/esolarhoc , spread the word and get on board.
Update - - 6/5/2015 (Friday)
MAY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
May is usually our best month for homemade electricity but
this year it tanked. We had abnormally
high amounts of cloud cover that kept us at around 93% of our expected
amount. On the plus side the cloudiness
helped keep our temperatures cooler so we saved on running the a.c.
By the numbers for May – Used 420 kWh – Made 544 for a
surplus of 124 kWh. Add those last three digits to our existing
1240 and we now have a reserve of 1364 kWh hours as we head into the hottest
months of summer.
No news on the NVPUC complaint.
Hope you visit again in July.
Update - -
7/6/2015 (Monday) JUNE MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
Since
going solar, NVEnergy has swapped out our meter 3 times. The first was because we went solar. Number two was when I dumped Time of
Use. Just last week they changed it again
to put on a net smart meter. Rest
assured I’ll be watching this new meter very carefully. Trust but verify.
We
made slightly more than the projected amount of solar electric for June by only
by a meager .03 MWh. Five cloudy days
hurt us and also June was nothing short of HOT with a few record tying days. Bottom line is we have now tapped into the
reserve because we used more than we generated.
We started this billing cycle with 1364 extra kWh but by the end of the
cycle we sucked up 324 kWh leaving us a reserve balance of 990 kWh with 2.5 hot
months in front of us. If the next
couple of months are average we will make July with just the basic and short
fees and should be close in making it through August. September, well, I’m thinking we’ll get a bit
of a hit.
This
month’s bill was a buck and change over May.
The exact amount for this bill is $15.68.
Still no news on the NVPUC complaint.
Please visit again in August.
Update - - 8/7/2015 (Friday)
JULY MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
This was an exciting month because our first year of solar
energy credits were approved. 27,552
credits are now in our bank. If the
$.059 figure ends up being accurate that is $1625.57. My guesstimate at time of purchase was $1200
per year. That extra will shorten our ROI
time just a bit.
Now for the July wrap.
We used 865 kWh and needed to use 416 kWh from our accrued credits. The actual bill was $15.90. Here’s where things get dicey. We have 574 remaining kWh. If all things are equal to last year we
should use 456 of those next month leaving us only 118 kWh heading into
September. If that’s the case we’ll come
up short about 206 kWh in September and that would give us a September bill of
around $45. A power bill of that size
would be the largest bill I’ve had in the past rolling calendar year.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back again in September.
Update - - 9/4/2015 (Friday)
AUGUST MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
The race is on to see how September ends. After this bill we still have 191 accrued kWh
for next month. That’s good, but I do believe
we’ll come up just a bit short. The two
big factors will be how long it stays hot and how much cloud cover we
have. As I mentioned, the race is
on.
In August we used 777 kWh with 383 coming out of our reserve. The actual bill was $15.64. If we have a bill for actual electric used
next month I now calculate it should be =/< $37.00, which, as I mentioned
last month would be the largest bill in the last rolling calendar year. For us, going solar has worked.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back in October.
Update
- - 10/6/2015 (Tuesday) SEPTEMBER MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
Update - - 9/4/2015 (Friday)
AUGUST MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
The race is on to see how September ends. After this bill we still have 191 accrued kWh
for next month. That’s good, but I do believe
we’ll come up just a bit short. The two
big factors will be how long it stays hot and how much cloud cover we
have. As I mentioned, the race is
on.
In August we used 777 kWh with 383 coming out of our reserve. The actual bill was $15.64. If we have a bill for actual electric used
next month I now calculate it should be =/< $37.00, which, as I mentioned
last month would be the largest bill in the last rolling calendar year. For us, going solar has worked.
Looking back at the last 12 months of bills should help
prove my case with the PUC. We’ll see.Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
Stop back in October.
Update
- - 10/6/2015 (Tuesday) SEPTEMBER MONTHLY SOLAR PRODUCTION REVIEW
WE DID IT! We made it
through September with our new and accrued solar panel energy. That’s 12 consecutive months. We’re well beyond pleased. We’re thrilled with this outcome. Even better, as we head into our next year we
still have 26 unused accrued kWh. Bottom
line – Robco was conservative in their calculations with our solar panel
system. They calculated we may get a
slightly higher energy bill in both August and September. It’s smart for them to make a conservative
estimate because it makes the system look even better. My more liberal calculations were pretty damn
close. I figured we may get a slight
bill in September only, but even I under shot the power of the panels.
By the numbers - NVEnergy sent us 615 kWh. We sent them 450. That left us 165 short but we had 191 kWh in
reserve leaving us the 26 kWh mentioned above in the bank for the future. The September bill with meter, taxes, and
short fees was $15.19.
Since we have a full 18 months of data my future updates
will be on an ‘as needed’ basis. When we
sell our PECs, I’ll post it. When the
PUC complaint is resolved, I’ll post that too.
When I hear of a scam or lawsuit that’s of interest, you’ll find it
here.
My conclusion on solar panels is if you do it right – you’re
golden. Do it wrong and you’re
screwed.
Nothing to report on my ongoing NVPUC complaint.
YOUR INVITED - TO CHECK OUT MY NEW BOOK Behind the Lens & Behind the Microphone
Update - -
2/12/2016 (Friday) RESPONSE TO NEW SOLAR RATE EVENTS
HOW THE NEVADA PUC JUST KILLED SOLAR
ENERGY, GAVE NVEnergy A RATE HIKE, AND DEALT A BLOW TO ELECTRIC CAR OWNERSHIP
IN THE STATE
I haven’t
seen this kind of destruction by a government entity in my entire
lifetime. By a 3 to nothing vote the NV
PUC just wrecked an industry that should have been a win-win for one of the
handful of states where solar energy totally made sense. It not only made sense but could have
generated untold and now never to be seen $’s.
Faraday and
Elon Musk need to abandon plans in the Silver State IMMEDIATELY. Stop construction and run for cover. This states leadership cannot and should not
be trusted.
I’ve just
checked the numbers – my numbers. I will
recover my solar investment over a period of 12.5 years. Originally it would have been 6-1/2 but now,
should I live long enough I’ll get through this debacle. Thousands and thousands will never see the
light.
Nevada’s
residential solar industry is DEAD. If
you want to finance a solar panel system there is absolutely no way to make it
work and get your money back. If anyone
tells you otherwise, it’s a lie, period.
NVEnergy was
willing, at least saying they were, to grandfather the rate increase over 20
years. Now if they were willing to do
that then they must have known any negative result to the NVEnergy bottom line
would have been minimal at worst. By
letting the rates climb NVEnergy just got an unrequested rate hike.
I know of
some people that went solar in the hopes of getting an electric car in the
future. Not now. In the words of one person regarding a
planned electric vehicle purchase, NOT NOW – NOT EVER.
Now for my
master plan - -
From the following blog:
|
The BIG Players:
Gov. Sandoval – talks the ‘Green’ talk, but does he walk the ‘Green’
walk?
The NV Legislature:
Some of which have their hands in the pockets of NVEnergy, taxpayer
pockets, and the pockets of some big players selling and installing solar
panels.
Senator Harry Reid:
Has one hand in the pocket of NVEnergy and the other hand in taxpayer pockets.
NVEnergy: The big
power that helped create the big mess.
A few companies selling solar: Stretched the truth to customers sucking them
into the solar creator.
The Small players:
Getting burned by solar big time are the residential customers of NVEnergy.
The NV Public Utilities commission: Trying to get it right but are challenged at
every turn.
The simple fact:
Southern Nevada, with an abundance of sunshine, should be the nation’s
leader in production of solar electricity from all possible sources, which
includes commercial, business, non-commercial, and residential energy
users. All of the above players have
helped turned the simple fact into a convoluted nightmare with little sunshine
to generate solar.
The detailed story:
Prior to January 1, 2016 NVEnergy never purchased excess
electricity generated by solar panels.
Solar customers were given Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs). Any excess electricity generated by panels
was credited to your electric bill.
These were known as accrued kWh.
In the spring and fall some, NOT
ALL, solar owners would generate accrued kWh. Those accrued kWh would then be used by the
owner during the hot summer months and a couple of the winter months. Part of the original solar agreement was
that solar panel installations could not exceed 10% above the previous 12
months of electrical use.
NVEnergy could purchase PECs to meet federal mandated
renewable energy standards, but they never bought accrued kWh. PECs are NOT the same as accrued kWh. PEC’s are from some nebulous mathematical
formula. Kilowatt hours (kWh) are the
real deal. These are generated from the
actual solar panels and are metered.
Make no mistake NVEnergy is no friend of residential solar
owners. Residential NVEnergy customers
are the bread and butter users of NVEnergy and NVEnergy wants it all. Nationally about .25% or ¼ of 1% of solar
energy comes from RESIDENTIAL SOLAR. In
Southern Nevada that number is right around 2%.
NVEnergy wants you to believe that 2% of the residential customer that
have gone solar is going to dramatically push up the rates for the other
98%. FACT: NVEnergy’s own numbers DO NOT SUPPORT
THAT. According to NVEnergy the growth
rate for Southern Nevada is 3.63%. That
number is 1.63% above the 2% that have defected to solar. NVEnergy does not mind losing some government
buildings, schools, and non-profit organizations to solar panels. That gives the company bragging rights about
how solar friendly they are and it is simply good PR.
The NVEnergy strategy is simple. Get those that don’t have solar to hate those
that do. Convince the ‘don’t haves’ that
the ‘do haves’ will be the reason for future rate increases. Forget reality that shows otherwise, this is
a perception game.
This is as equally important as anything negative about
NVEnergy. There have been some
unscrupulous and disingenuous large solar companies that have been selling
solar installations on false promises and, in some cases, out and out
lies. Rent to own, lease to own, or
financing a solar installation is a horrible idea. The math on getting a reasonable return on
investment didn’t work in the past and still doesn’t work. I have yet to have anybody show me
otherwise. This type of salesmanship and
installation practice should have been stopped before it ever got started. If you bought a residential solar system
under the above conditions and you are mad at NVEnergy you are picking on the
wrong company. You should be after the
company that sold you on it or simply blame yourself for a bad decision and
move on.
The Politicians (Governor ‘Sunshine’ Sandoval, the NV
Legislature and Harry Reid):
Many, if not all, of the above have taken political
donations from NVEnergy. Some, if not
all, have also accepted money from SolarCity.
That puts any elected hack that did it into one hell of a pickle. You can’t be beholdin’ to two opposite
entities. Even worse for governor
‘Sunshine’ is how he led the charge in convincing the legislature on what
wonderful deal Elon Musk’s battery plant would be for Nevada. Now that NVEnergy and the NVPUC has neutered
SolarCity, ‘Sunshine’ must be more than a little worried about what would
happen if ‘Battery Man’ (Musk) pulls the plug on Reno. Note to ‘Gov.’ - - In the 1970’s Volkswagen
did just that in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.
They built a VW Rabbit manufacturing plant with huge state concessions
and tax breaks. After promising years of
prosperity on this deal the plant lasted one year. It cost the PA tax payers millions.
It’s not totally correct to put the blame for this debacle
on the NV Public Utilities Commission.
Under staffed and over worked, I believe some improperly applied
pressure led to a hasty and, there’s no nice way to say this, bad
decision.
So where does this leave solar owners? I hope this will lead you to follow my
decision.
January 1, 2016 NVEnergy started buying my excess electricity. No more accrued credits. My bill shows they bought it all, which the
way I see it, now makes me an electric company.
I manufacture and now sell electricity.
Certainly that was not by my design.
But now that I am electric company I am entitled to the following:
11)
To negotiate rates and PUC hearings on such
rates.
22)
To be paid monthly by check and not in credits
by NVEnergy. After all of those years of
paying my bills on time I am entitled to the same courtesy.
33) If NVEnergy does not pay on time I am entitled
to late fees.
44)
I’m entitled to legal representation and have
the rates of such representation included into negotiated rate paid by
NVEnergy. You can damn well bet NVEnergy
has lawyers on their staff.
55)
NVEnergy should be subject to payment of the
same short fees (nuisance fees) on my bill that I
pay on my monthly bill.
66)
All of my years in Southern Nevada I had no
choice but to buy electricity from NVEnergy.
NVEnergy should have no choice and should be mandated to buy mine.
77)
As an electric company I should be granted the
right to put as many solar panels on my
property as permitted by building
codes.
At the current time I am shopping for legal representation
for my electric company. Maybe I can
find a legal beagle to represent all of those that join the idea presented
here. My goal is to gain a decent ROI,
just like NVEnergy’s goal is to get a decent ROI.
Actually I would love to meet with Governor Sandoval, any
and all interested members of the Nevada Legislature, NVEnergy and/or the
NVPUC. From coast to coast this state is
becoming the joke of solar energy and that should have never happened.
Final note:
My electric company already meets federal guidelines for the amount of
electricity generated by renewable resources.
If you are a solar owner please join me. Contact nevadawx@yahoo.com Subject:
Solar owner.
Update - - 3/11/2016 (Friday) THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE SO FAR!!!!
Update - - 3/11/2016 (Friday) THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT UPDATE SO FAR!!!!
Finally Some Good News for NV Residential Solar Panel Owners
You may have already guessed any good news did not
come from Gov. Sunless Sandoval, his Carson City Cronies, NVEnergy nor the NV
PUC. This good news comes from a white
knight company that really, really, really wanted to help us.
I’m sure most of you, if not all of you, know Warren (stick
it to you) Buffett’s local liars club, more oft than not referred to as
NVEnergy is no longer interested in purchasing Portfolio Energy Credits (PECs)
generated from solar. A system they
helped create and signed off on is DEAD.
That leaves those of us who own our PECs, aka Renewable Energy
Certificates (REC’s) in other states, SOL (Shit out of Luck).
Now along comes a source of illumination and it’s not from
the sun, however, it is from a local solar company. Enter and welcome with open arms A
to Z Solar Systems.
If you bought your system outright, did not take the rip-off
NVEnergy rebate, and own your REC’s help has arrived. I want to state upfront A to Z Solars
intentions are not purely philanthropic.
There is money in it for them, however, they are taking the risk and
deserve some return on that.
A to Z Solar Sytems is the ONLY entity in the state of NV
actively marketing and selling RECs from both residential and small commercial
solar installs. They can sell across
state lines which will get the best price for you and best 15% commission for
them. You commit for 1 year at a time
and can bail at the end of any year commitment.
In short they track, monitor, and sell you RECs and you get
the check, less 15%. How much will you
get? Hey, prices vary but anything is
better than the boot in your a$$ you are currently getting.
Up front you need to know this.....you need a digital meter
accurate within 00.2% on your solar panels.
Analog meters are only accurate within 1% and that’s simply not good
enough. That digital meter is going to
set you back 100 beans ($). A to Z will
sell and install this for you.
I suspect sometime in the future some other local solar
saviors will jump on board and that might cause some competition on commission
rates.
I’ll tell you this I jumped at this opportunity almost
instantly. Every day you wait is more
PECs (RECs) down the rat hole.
Contact info for A to Z Solar Systems is (702) 831 0313
Physical address 4012
S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite K-341 Las Vegas,
NV 89013
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
YOU CAN STILL GO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR IN NEVADA....BUT
In case you’ve been living in a cave the past few months,
the Public Utilities Commission in Nevada blocked out the sunshine for
residential solar in January of 2016.
Along with many many others, my initial reaction was
NVEnergy got their wish, Gov. ‘Sunless’ Sandoval sold out to big electric, and
the PUCN was a rubber stamp for helping Warren Buffett’s new toy, NVEnergy. To me, all of the above still holds
true. The next statement I’ve repeatedly
made needs revision. I’ve been rightly
quoted as saying, “Residential Solar is dead in Nevada.” After additional research and some
adjustments to my residential solar model I can now tell you residential solar is
not dead, however it is seriously wounded.
The fact is you can make residential solar still work in your favor BUT
you have to be very careful in how you do it.
Residential Solar now requires more homework than
before. Your Return on Investment will
be less and the ROI will take a longer period of time which makes your age now
factor into the equation.
ENTER THE NEW REALITIES
I’m going to try and make this as simple as I can and
upfront I’ll tell you many of the old rules of residential solar still apply,
so I’ll start with them first.
1) Shop Around
(old reality)
Get bids on your project from
multiple companies. I strongly suggest
talking with Robco Electric www.robcoelectricinc.com
and A to Z Solar Systems www.NVRECs.com before
you sign on the line.
2)
Put up the maximum amount of panels allowed for
compliance (old
reality/new reality)
You objective is to zero out you electric
bill as much as possible. The only way
to do this is to load up on panels. Prior to January 1 you were limited to a
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
3)
Head South without any obstructions (old
reality)
Make sure you panels are installed
on the South side of your home and there are no obstructions blocking out the
sunshine. If you don’t have a good
southerly heading without anything blocking the sun, don’t waste your money on
solar.
4)
PAY CASH
(old reality)
If you finance solar panels or do a
lease/purchase (which I have always said is the worst idea ever) you will find
it nearly impossible to get your money back.
I’ve actually talked with some people who, under the new rules, are now
telling me they are paying more with their lease/purchase solar then they would
have paid in electric bills. In short,
they will never get their money back and it’s costing them MORE. Make no mistake about this, having
lease/purchase solar panels on you home will make it more difficult to
sell. Especially if the company that did
the deal pulled out of Nevada.
5)
Make sure your installation comes with Enphase
Inverters (new reality)
I’ll explain this with #6.
6)
Get set up to sell your Renewable Energy Credits
(new reality)
Prior to January
1st of 2016 Nevada had Portfolio Energy Credits. Initially these were yours to sell, however it got to a point where
NVEnergy had no plans on buying them.
PECs had a multiplier applied to them which really meant nothing. Other states call them RECs and have no
multiplier. Here is where you must have
contact with A to Z Solar. As of this
writing they are the only company in Nevada that can sell your RECs. They get 10% of the money and you get
90%. Hey, 90% is better than a rake in
the face. To meet specifications on
selling RECs you must have Enphase Inverters on your solar panels and you must
have a digital solar meter installed that is accurate within 2/10’s of 1%. That will cost you 100 bucks and A to Z Solar
will handle that.
7)
Your AGE
is now a factor on going solar (new reality)
When we decided to go solar I was
64. Under the old rules I calculated a
6-1/2 year pay back with an overall 11% ROI.
Under the new system my payback is now 12 years with an overall 6%
ROI. By the time we get our initial
investment back I will be 76. In today’s
economic climate a 6% return on investment is decent, not great, but
decent. I feel pretty confident I’d be
around in my early 70’s to make all of this work. I’m in good health and I’m hoping now 76 plus
a few is livable. If you decide to go
residential solar, the younger you are the better. Fifty-five seems like a pretty decent age. Depending on your health, even 60 might
work. Beyond 60 you become boarder line
on making it work. It’s hard to
appreciate an ROI when you’re busy taking an eternal dirt nap.
You now have 3 new realities to consider before
putting solar panels on your home. It’s
still doable but not quite as profitable.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Stop back from time to time and see what’s
new. I’ll post update information on my
FB page and twitter.
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
Update - - 3/30/2016 (Wednesday)
YOU CAN STILL GO RESIDENTIAL SOLAR IN NEVADA....BUT
In case you’ve been living in a cave the past few months,
the Public Utilities Commission in Nevada blocked out the sunshine for
residential solar in January of 2016.
Along with many many others, my initial reaction was
NVEnergy got their wish, Gov. ‘Sunless’ Sandoval sold out to big electric, and
the PUCN was a rubber stamp for helping Warren Buffett’s new toy, NVEnergy. To me, all of the above still holds
true. The next statement I’ve repeatedly
made needs revision. I’ve been rightly
quoted as saying, “Residential Solar is dead in Nevada.” After additional research and some
adjustments to my residential solar model I can now tell you residential solar is
not dead, however it is seriously wounded.
The fact is you can make residential solar still work in your favor BUT
you have to be very careful in how you do it.
Residential Solar now requires more homework than
before. Your Return on Investment will
be less and the ROI will take a longer period of time which makes your age now
factor into the equation.
ENTER THE NEW REALITIES
I’m going to try and make this as simple as I can and
upfront I’ll tell you many of the old rules of residential solar still apply,
so I’ll start with them first.
1) Shop Around
(old reality)
Get bids on your project from
multiple companies. I strongly suggest
talking with Robco Electric www.robcoelectricinc.com
and A to Z Solar Systems www.NVRECs.com before
you sign on the line.
2)
Put up the maximum amount of panels allowed for
compliance (old
reality/new reality)
reality/new reality)
You objective is to zero out you electric
bill as much as possible. The only way
to do this is to load up on panels. Prior to January 1 you were limited to a
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
10% overage of your previous years production. Now there is no limit
but you'll want to cap this at around 15 to 20 %.
3)
Head South without any obstructions (old
reality)
Make sure you panels are installed
on the South side of your home and there are no obstructions blocking out the
sunshine. If you don’t have a good
southerly heading without anything blocking the sun, don’t waste your money on
solar.
4)
PAY CASH
(old reality)
If you finance solar panels or do a
lease/purchase (which I have always said is the worst idea ever) you will find
it nearly impossible to get your money back.
I’ve actually talked with some people who, under the new rules, are now
telling me they are paying more with their lease/purchase solar then they would
have paid in electric bills. In short,
they will never get their money back and it’s costing them MORE. Make no mistake about this, having
lease/purchase solar panels on you home will make it more difficult to
sell. Especially if the company that did
the deal pulled out of Nevada.
5)
Make sure your installation comes with Enphase
Inverters (new reality)
I’ll explain this with #6.
6)
Get set up to sell your Renewable Energy Credits
(new reality)
Prior to January
1st of 2016 Nevada had Portfolio Energy Credits. Initially these were yours to sell, however it got to a point where
NVEnergy had no plans on buying them.
PECs had a multiplier applied to them which really meant nothing. Other states call them RECs and have no
multiplier. Here is where you must have
contact with A to Z Solar. As of this
writing they are the only company in Nevada that can sell your RECs. They get 10% of the money and you get
90%. Hey, 90% is better than a rake in
the face. To meet specifications on
selling RECs you must have Enphase Inverters on your solar panels and you must
have a digital solar meter installed that is accurate within 2/10’s of 1%. That will cost you 100 bucks and A to Z Solar
will handle that.
7)
Your AGE
is now a factor on going solar (new reality)
When we decided to go solar I was
64. Under the old rules I calculated a
6-1/2 year pay back with an overall 11% ROI.
Under the new system my payback is now 12 years with an overall 6%
ROI. By the time we get our initial
investment back I will be 76. In today’s
economic climate a 6% return on investment is decent, not great, but
decent. I feel pretty confident I’d be
around in my early 70’s to make all of this work. I’m in good health and I’m hoping now 76 plus
a few is livable. If you decide to go
residential solar, the younger you are the better. Fifty-five seems like a pretty decent age. Depending on your health, even 60 might
work. Beyond 60 you become boarder line
on making it work. It’s hard to
appreciate an ROI when you’re busy taking an eternal dirt nap.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Update - - 4/18/2016 (Monday)
Lots of solar issues to address today.
I'll start with this - - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/13/solar-panel-energy-power-company-nevada
Followed by this which is being sent to the local media -
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and
create shade on the
panels. Again, this
is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding
the top bottom and all sides of panel
groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows:
Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel
deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers
with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for
residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of
excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example:
For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar
customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill
and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels
because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess
panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain
in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being
done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such
as a universal energy
charge. This will also
consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are
notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be
mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy
issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Recently a commercial started airing on television for
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with the website of www.solarenergyfairness.com
. This website is yet another
misinformation campaign.
Electric companies have repeatedly charged that residential
customers going solar have and will continue to raise electric rates for
non-solar residential customers. This is
simply NOT true.
Nationwide less than
2/10 of 1% of all solar energy comes from residential customers. In Southern Nevada that figures is 2%. NVEnergy’s own growth numbers show growth in
our area will increase slightly more than 3-1/2% while only 2% of residents went
solar. That indicates NVEnergy’s
customer base will grow more than 1-1/2% beyond those residential customers
that have opted to put up solar panels.
When you have growth above and beyond defectors, it follows that
NVEnergy profits will grow despite the loss of a 2% customer base.
The website www.solarenergyfairness.com
incorrectly claims rooftop solar owners get an average of $623 in subsidies
yearly. I have rooftop solar and the
ONLY incentive I had was a ONE TIME 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This is not a subsidy and it has ZERO effect
on how NVEnergy charges its local customers.
To be fair there were a few and I mean very few subsidies
given each year to a lottery pool of residential solar applicants. Again, the fact is very few residents got
this subsidy. The bulk of NVEnergy
subsidies were given to state, business and non-profit organizations. As of January 1, 2016 NVEnergy subsidy ‘Power
Clerk’ system has not taken any new applications.
The above change coincides with the Public Utility
Commission of Nevada wholesale and unfair changes (referred to by the New York
Times as “Nevada’s Solar Bait-and-Switch) which successfully punished and
penalized those of us that put up residential solar panels. Part of my punishment for my solar efforts
has been having my base rate jump a whopping 79% from a $10 per month to
$17.90.
Thanks to the PUCN’s January 1st punitive action for those
of us that put on residential solar panels, NVEnergy actually LOWERED the kWh
rate from $.11487 to $.10920. Contrary
to what Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness would have you believe, the kWh rate
has actually dropped because of rooftop solar.
Admittedly there were some unscrupulous large solar panel
sales companies preying on home owners by making unsubstantiated claims, mainly
with lease/purchase solar panel agreements.
Home owners that got sucked into
unrealistic solar agreements are now stuck with homes that will be, at best,
difficult to sell and, at worst, will be paying more for solar and electric
combined than they ever would have paid in just NVEnergy bills.
It’s easy to see NVEnergy does not want any additional
residential (bread and butter) customers jumping ship to solar.
Governor ‘Sunless’ Sandoval, his buddies at NVEnergy, and
appointees at the PUCN have successfully slowed the growth rate of residential
solar which is now something equivalent to the amount of solar electricity
generated at night. Let’s not forget the
fact that literally thousands of solar rooftop homeowners were hurt in this
uncaring process.
What I find most interesting is Big Electric isn’t content
with how it managed to squash residential solar. It wants to continue to villainize
residential rooftop solar owners.
I did the basic homework and found out Citizens for Solar
Energy Fairness and the corresponding website www.solarenergyfairness.com was
established by Kenny Eliason. Eliason
has a business called NeONBRAND.com.
NeONBRAND.com is a company that designs websites and specializes in
Search Engine Optimization located at 817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas.
It seems more than a little odd that a Facebook page like
Citizens for Solar Energy Fairness with slightly more than 1700 followers could
afford to launch a big television campaign touting the evils of rooftop
residential solar without some big backing from NVEnergy, Energy company
lobbyists, and/or other big electric interests.
I did the basic homework on this, now it’s up to a news
organization to pick up the ball and dig deeper on what entity is perpetuating
the lies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then there is this which will have a few minor edits to it before being submitted to state legislators, the NV Governor, the PUCN, and NVEnergy.
I’ve been shooting my big mouth off from my solar rooftop
perch about both the State of Nevada and NVEnergy’s horrible record in dealing
with residential solar.
Finally somebody hit me with the question I’ve been somewhat
dreading but also waiting for – “Okay, big mouth, what is your solution?”
Thank you for the question, I guess and here goes the crux
of my solution to the solar problem in Nevada.
At the onset, let me reiterate on something I have said time
and again. Nevada should be the premier
state in leading the nation in solar energy.
At the current time it has become a national embarrassment. Below are some of the fixes and the effects
thereof.
1) No more new solar subsidies from
NVEnergy, PERIOD. However, all existing
subsidies will be honored.
subsidies will be honored.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. Subsidies may have been necessary when the
solar baby was born, but this game has grown.
In addition, subsidies often lead to misuse and fraud. Fly-by-night and some big name solar
companies where using the subsidy ploy to lure customers. Eliminating subsidies will help stop shady
business practices. The absence of
subsidies will slow solar growth, however, it will be at a tolerable rate for
NVEnergy.
THIS ALSO BENEFITS EXISTING SOLAR
OWNERS. Those few with subsidies will
continue to receive them. This will
eliminate the false argument that residential solar customers are forcing rate
increases. This will be eliminated because
solar growth will be slower.
THIS BENEFITS NON-SOLAR
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS – for all of the reasons mentioned above.
2) The compass rule. All new solar installations must be with + or
– 40
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
degrees of due south (180 degrees).
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
OWNERS. The object here is to get the
maximum benefit from lowest cost when you install solar. Solar panels facing any other directions
produce less electric. To get the
benefit of solar in other directions you need to install additional
panels. This is a consumer protection
rule. If your residence faces the wrong
direction, rather than waste money adding solar panels that will under produce,
buy a different home or simply forget about solar.
3) The Shade Rule. Solar panel installations will not be approved
for homes where
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and create shade on the
panels. Again, this is a consumer protection rule.
obstacles, such as trees, exceed the height of the roof and create shade on the
panels. Again, this is a consumer protection rule.
THIS BENEFITS FUTURE RESIDENTIAL
SOLAR INSTALLATIONS by maximizing output for the lower cost.
4) Pigeon Guard.
All residential solar installations MUST include pigeon guard
surrounding the top bottom and all sides of panel groups.
surrounding the top bottom and all sides of panel groups.
THIS BENFITS BOTH SOLAR OWNERS AND
NEAR BY RESIDENTS. Pigeon droppings are
annoying and, when directly on the face of solar panels, cut into production. Underneath unprotected solar panels is a
great home for pigeons. No pigeon guards
– no solar panels.
5) Rent/Lease Solar Panel Purchase
WARNING with 3 day right of recension.
This
rule would work as follows: Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
rule would work as follows: Any Rent/Lease Solar panel purchase would have
something similar to the following, in bold type, at the top of the contract:
WARNING! READ THIS
CAREFULLY! INSTALLING SOLAR PANELS USING
A RENT/LEASE OPTION MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO SELL YOUR HOME IN THE FUTURE. IF ATTEMPTING TO SELL YOUR HOME WITH
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANELS YOU MUST DISCLOSE THIS FACT TO REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND
POTENTIAL BUYERS. ADDITIONALLY, A
RENT/LEASE SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATION MAY, OVER TIME, COST MORE THAN THE BASIC
PRICE OF ELECTRICITY DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. YOU MUST SIGN AND DATE THIS PORTION OF THE
CONTRACT. A COPY OF THIS WILL BE KEPT ON
FILE BY YOUR LOCAL ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.
THIS BENEFITS BOTH FUTURE SOLAR
PANEL OWNERS AND NVENERGY. The rapid
growth of solar in Southern Nevada was, in part, caused by a few companies
making pie in the sky promises using the rent/lease ploy. Rest assured, in the future there will be a
plethora of lawsuits between existing rent/lease solar owners and those that
sold them on this horrible concept.
6) No loans for a down payment of
rent/lease solar panels. No purchasers
will
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
knowingly apply for a down payment loan on a rent/lease solar panel deal.
In addition, no bank or lending institution will knowingly approve such a loan.
THIS BENEFITS BANKS, LENDING
INSTITUTIONS AND CONSUMERS. The chance
of a homeowner walking away from a mortgage is dramatically increased if that person
is upside down on a loan and increased his overall cost with a bad rent/lease
solar deal.
7) The base rate for residential
solar home owners will be $2.00 above the
rate of non-solar residential customers with the same class of service.
rate of non-solar residential customers with the same class of service.
THIS BENEFITS SOLAR RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This will
actually lower the base rate for solar owners from the current rate. Because it is a slight decrease solar
customers benefit. The fact that this
rate is still an increase from the rate prior to January 1st 2016,
NVEnergy remains a benefactor. This
levels the playing field between solar and non-solar customers because the
solar customers will continue to pay $2.00 more whenever there is a base rate
increase.
8) Excess solar generation credits
are applied at the same rate as accrued.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
This returns the credit generation system to the way it was prior to
January 1, 2016.
THIS BENEFITS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR
CUSTOMERS AND NVENERGY. This simplifies
accounting for excess credits. Unlike
prior to January 1, 2016, excess credits can now be used to pay base rate meter
fee. This was permitted on January 1,
2016. By allowing a meter fee of $2.00
per month more than non-solar customers, solar customers will be using some of
the excess generation money to pay meter fees.
9) The 5/50/50 rule. The new rules no longer limit the amount of
solar panels
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example: For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
that can be installed by residential customers. This rule makes it un-profitable
for residential solar customers to ‘load-up’ on panels. Every 5 years NVEnergy
will purchase 50% of excess accrued residential power at 50% of the current kWh
price. Example: For this example let’s assume the current price of a kWh is $.10.
Let’s also assume the residential solar customer loaded his roof with enough extra
panels to zero out his energy bill and generate an extra 1000 kWh per year.
NVEnergy could then buy 2500 kWh of that reserve for $.05. The return of 50%
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
makes it totally unattractive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on access
panels because the customer would never generate enough electric to pay for the
excess panels. The unpurchased kWh would remain in the owners account as a
‘buffer’ for potential rate increases.
THIS BENEFITS NEVADA ENERGY by
removing any incentive for residential solar customers to ‘load up’ on solar
panels in the hope of generating a personal profit.
10) The round-up rule. Any NVEnergy bill will be in whole dollars
ONLY. All bills are
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such as a universal energy
charge. This will also consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
rounded up to the next dollar. This is already being done by some utility
companies in other states to help offset short fees such as a universal energy
charge. This will also consume a few extra kWh from some residential solar
customers each month.
THIS BENEFITS NVENERGY. All future NVEnergy bills will be whole dollars
only with zero cents. The round up is
used to offset short fees and ‘burn’ off a few additional solar credits.
11) No payment due, no snail mail
bill. Any customer non-solar or solar
that has a
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
credit does NOT receive a bill by U.S. mail. Credit statements and ZERO bill
customers are notified by email to download that month’s statement.
Statements sent by U.S. mail will only be mailed when actual money is owed
to NVEnergy OR at the times when NVEnergy issues a check for the 5/50/50
rule.
I am not naïve enough to believe this will settle all of the
issues with the State of Nevada, NVEnergy, solar residential customers, and
non-solar customers. I do believe this
is a solid start to common sense ideas that will hopefully get the powers that
be to stop drawing lines between solar and non-solar customers.
Stop back from time to time and see what’s
new. I’ll post update information on my
FB page and twitter.
Real, raw and sometimes raunchy these are the behind-the-scenes television and radio stories.
These are the events you were never meant to know.
Of course, you are invited to share this blog along with my many blog entries under GOLD NUGGETS OF TRUTH.
As I do all of these things I'll be posting notices on my Facebook page
so please follow me there for updates. My FB page is Terry Kniess
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Krystalco LLC 2015 Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or
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