Newsletter # 1: July 2024
When we bought our home years ago, one of the first things we did was put panels on our south-facing roof. It was important to us to power as much of our home and life from clean energy. We found the original design was a good fit for just the two of us.
Growing Solar Array to Power Growing Family
When we bought our home years ago, one of the first things we did was put panels on our south-facing roof. It was important to us to power as much of our home and life from clean energy. We found the original design was a good fit for just the two of us.
Then we started expanding our family and found that the original design was not giving us all the power we needed. I’ve heard from many people how much electricity their children use, so we decided to get lil’ one her own solar array! The installation started on my birthday, and we got town approval on hubby’s birthday, a great gift for us both!
The timing has worked out well, since the new CT netting tariff for this year allows both the old and new systems to qualify for 100% of the retail netting credits for 20 years. Starting next year though, we expect that in CT, PURA will introduce a charge for net metering, reducing the net metering compensation rate to lower than 100%. You are grandfathered in for 20 years for your net metering rate at the time of installation. So, if you know anyone in CT who may want to add on to their system, encourage them to set up a free consultation to evaluate adding more solar this year while it’s still 100%. We should know later this fall what the new net metering rate for next year will be, so stay tuned!
CT Utility Rates Increasing This Summer
The average utility rate has risen from around 10 cents per kilowatt hour in 2005 to over 30 cents per kilowatt hour in 2023.
This summer is a great time to have solar! I was just talking to a friend who said they’re so thankful hearing their neighbors complain about summer rates going up, knowing their solar has locked in their electricity payment so they won’t be paying those higher bills. If you pay $3,435/year in electricity this year and rates go up over the next 20 years at the rate they’ve gone up the last 20 years, you’ll be paying $10,305 in electricity costs 20 years from now!
Part of the reasoning for netting tariff rates decreasing next year, is that as utility rates continue to increase, the state needs to incentivize solar less to keep the switch over to solar economically compelling. That makes this year a great year to go solar! Spread the word to your friends and family who haven’t made the switch yet, so they don’t miss out.
Is Your Family Protected When the Grid Goes Down?
Is it just me, or does it seem like we’re getting a lot more erratic weather when it starts to get warm out?? Over just the last two weeks, I’ve gotten multiple emergency alerts about two tornado watches plus hurricane strength winds of up to 80 miles per hour! These high winds have caused thousands of people across the state to lose power.
Luckily, Connecticut has the best battery incentives in the country! Installing solar with a battery is a great alternative to generator because they come on automatically, they are quiet, and they work together with the solar to form a microgrid to power your home when the utility grid is down.
John and I on the day of his battery installation.
John C. is one of many solar owners taking advantage of participating in the CT Energy Storage Solutions program to lower his net battery installation costs. He has liked the idea of batteries for a long time, thinking about them when he first had his solar installed in 2014.
In exchange for dispatching energy from his battery on hot days and when the grid is stressed, he is getting upfront incentives to lower the upfront battery cost. Additionally, he will get paid performance-based incentives twice a year for ten years based on how his battery performs during peak summer and winter days. These incentives are paid at the end of each summer and winter season based on average energy contributions to the grid.
John has always been ahead of time and is excited to lead the way in his community with his battery installation. He installed two Franklin batteries with 27.2 kWh of backup capacity to back up to 60 amps. They attach to his existing 24-panel solar array so that the solar can work with the batteries and power the home when the grid is down.
$500 Battery Referral Program
If you know of anyone who is thinking about batteries, we are excited to let you know that batteries also qualify for our $500 referral! They can sign up here for a battery consultation and indicate you referred them. Or you can refer them through our referral app and we will reach out to set up a time to meet with them.