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Net Metering: An Incentive for Renewable energy May 4, 2009 Cambridge Energy Alliance

Net Metering: An Incentive for Renewable energy May 4, 2009 Cambridge Energy Alliance. Welcome to a Green Event!.

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Net Metering: An Incentive for Renewable energy May 4, 2009 Cambridge Energy Alliance

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  1. Net Metering:An Incentive for Renewable energyMay 4, 2009Cambridge Energy Alliance

  2. Welcome to a Green Event! The impact of this event’s electricity use has been offset with clean, local wind power through Mass Energy’s New England Wind Fund. For more information about how you can go green too, go to www.newenglandwind.org. Simulation of Princeton Wind Project

  3. Mass Energy • Nonprofit established in 1982 to make energy more affordable and environmentally sustainable • Advocacy is pro-consumer, pro-environment • Buying groups for discount heating oil and renewable energy • www.massenergy.org

  4. Overview • Federal incentives • Net Metering as re-established in the Massachusetts “Green Communities Act” (GCA) signed into law in July 2008 • Chapter 169 of 2008 • GCA also creates new incentive for on-site generation via the Renewable Portfolio Standard • Making all three work for you

  5. Federal tax breaks • www.dsireusa.org • Tax Credit • Solar, Wind, CHP, Geothermal, and more • 30% or a grant if applied for by 10/01/11 • for wind, solar, and fuel cells • accelerated depreciation for businesses • system owner may own or lease space • even on public and nonprofit property • Commonwealth Solar • www.masstech.org

  6. Net Metering • General concept: • if your solar panels produced 300 kWh in a month and you used 500, NSTAR would bill you for 200 kWh • a productive incentive to provide more value than wholesale markets would • before GCA, this benefit was limited to projects 60 kW in size

  7. Net Metering under GCASection 78 • hearing on draft regulations April 27, comments due today • NSTAR will have a “tariff” approved to provide more details • NM capped @ 1% of each distribution company’s peak capacity • ~ 50 MW for NSTAR

  8. Types of NM Facilities • Class I (60 kW or less, for wind, solar, CHP) • Class II (> 60 kW > 1 MW, for wind & solar) • Class III (> 1 MW to 2 MW ,for wind & solar) • Agricultural • Neighborhood Net Metering: is owned by or serves the need of 10 or more residential ratepayers • For each, there will be a “Host Customer”, according to current draft regulations

  9. Transfer or Allocate • Distribution Company shall allocate NMCs as designated in writing by Host Customer, to other customers who are in the Distribution Company service territory and are located in the same ISO-NE load zone • you could own NM facilities and sell NMCs • you could buy someone’s excess NMCs (like buying power) • thus, “virtual net metering”

  10. Net Metering Credits • kWh’s in excess of the NM Facility’s consumption will earn NMCs • value depends upon whether Class I, Class II, Class III, Neighborhood, or a Municipal project • Class III and NNM do not earn distribution rate credit unless they are municipal projects

  11. Comparisonbased upon draft regs.

  12. Key Issues To Be Determined • Regulations and distribution company tariff are not final • Legislature may try again at language • Key issues: • 3rd party ownership allowed or not • Critical for municipal projects • whether NMF’s need to have on-site usage to qualify for Class I, II, or III

  13. On-Site Generation • Renewable Portfolio Standard, Section 32 • New “carve-out” or “set-aside” for on-site generation in service Jan. 1, 2008 • may be for wind, but certainly for solar • essentially a feed-in tariff

  14. MA RPS Solar Carve OutDwayne Breger, Mass. DOER, March 2009 14 Green Communities Act provided for DOER to establish, within its RPS Class I regulations, a minimum percentage “set-aside” for on-site (in MA) renewable energy generation 2 MW units and smaller. Solar carve out, with sufficiently high ACP rate, will enable solar market to continue its growth trajectory to meet 250 MW by 2017 goal. DOER will soon establish process to design and implement PV carve out program with input from stakeholders. Key principle will be to provide smooth transition from current rebate program to RPS based incentive.

  15. REC RevenueImplication

  16. Putting It All Together • Federal benefits ~ 30% • Virtual net metering • RPS for on-site generation • Allows for innovative financing of private sector projects • City of Cambridge should look to this for on-site solar and perhaps wind off-site • must be NSTAR and “NEMA load zone” • may be possible to be 100% renewable

  17. Ingredients • Site control • Interconnection w/NSTAR • Up-front cash • Legal structure for ownership, physical operations and maintenance, administration of net metering credits and RECs, etc.

  18. Stay Tuned • Net metering • DPU needs to finalize regulations and NSTAR’s tariff • On-site generation set-aside in RPS • DOER needs to determine • eligible technologies • amount of generation required • Alternative Compliance Payment (penalty)

  19. Mass Energy Larry Chretien, larry@massenergy.org Michele Bilodeau, michele@massenerg.org 617-524-3950 www.massenergy.org

  20. Welcome to a Green Event! The impact of this event’s electricity use has been offset with clean, local wind power through Mass Energy’s New England Wind Fund. For more information about how you can go green too, go to www.newenglandwind.org. Simulation of Princeton Wind Project

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