Looking at building solar system - net metering setup

[Nick Dan]

I'm getting a new piece of property and everything is electric in the home: Heater, AC, hot water, etc...

There is plenty of room on the open property where there are no trees etc... to build a PV system and is not obstructed and the terrain is flat.

I'm working on getting some electric bill records for the home, however I figure maybe 100KW a day. It's a pretty rough figure, but it is a start.

The property is located in Washington State on the east side of the state. I can weld, build, wire, etc... so none of that really

I'd like to shoot for about a 100% offset with the PV system and leave room for expansion as I have more plans for the property that will undoubtedly increase the electrical usage.


I've done a little reading on the topic, however I feel it is time to get some advice from those with experience and then continue on the research path based on some input.

Also, if anyone else is from WA are there any incentives that are still available from WA or even Federal at this time. I have Inland Power and Light Company for a utility provider.


Thank you to anyone that even takes the time to read this and even more so to those that contribute anything to the conversation/thread. Please let me know if you need any more additional information and I will gladly provide it or find it.

Edit: from more reading, it seems that 30% is good through 2019. I'm sure everyone here already knows this, but It'll help me keep things straight.

In order to qualify for this tax credit do I have to purchase from approved vendors/brands etc... or can I simply buy from anywhere by any payment method? I did see that all product has to be new.

Another question I have is if I install a system in 2016 and take the tax credit and then I add another $5000 to the project as an expansion in 2017 can I then get a tax credit for the $5000 in 2017?

[Nick Dan]

I've collected some more information.

The numbers are from the current resident. I'm guessing my numbers will be a little higher as I will be running a business out of the property and will have more electronics.

Average: $235
Low: $165 May (2236kW)
High: $370 February (5500kW)
$0.065/kW
$150 Inspection
$225 Net and Production Meter Install (sell back is about .05/kW) Incentive program is closed for now though
Net Metering is done monthly, however can build up a "Bank" that resets on April 30th each year

Estimated kW/y = 42,0000
http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php
Suggests I would need about a 40kW system to generate about 50,000 kW a year
I'd probably want to undershoot the estimates as to not over generate for the year because there is no incentive to do that.


Any thoughts? Input? Suggestions?

[Rob Beckers]

Hi Nick, welcome to the forum!

40kW is a lot of solar panels! (and money)...
Sounds like WA has annual net-metering, where you carry over excess (from the summer for example) to offset use at other times (winter), and any excess that's not used within 12 months expires.

PV-Watts is generally fairly accurate. If you punched in your location and the tilt/azimuth of the panels it should give you an accurate result.

Is there no restriction where you are regarding the size of a net-metering system? We can't really do more than 10kW over here (in theory it's possible, in practice it's too expensive once you pass 10kW due to extra requirements that kick in). Nice if they allow such large systems!

40,000 kWh/yr is VERY large electrical use for a single residence, even for North America that has some of the highest average use in the world (Canadians actually use more than US residents). The US average is around 900 kWh/month, or around 11,000 kWh/yr. My first thought would be to look at ways to do energy conservation. With use that high it's usually pretty easy to shave off a significant chunk.

I can't really say much about incentives for your area. The DSIRE database is a good place to look: http://www.dsireusa.org/
The one I know about is the 30% tax credit, it's been around for quite some time now. I had not heard that there are requirements about equipment and installation. Do a little searching, it shouldn't be hard to find the actual law, or a distilled version if reading law texts is not your thing. Here is one place to start: https://energystar.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/216375477

-RoB-

[Nick Dan]

Thank you very much for the reply!

I'm not sure what the cap is, however I know there are systems of greater than 25kW that are allowed because there is an application for systems greater than 25kW and then an application for those lower than 25kW.

Do you know if the federal solar incentive is a one time shot or can it be spread over the course of a few years if building it in parts.

For example, I build and setup a 10kW functioning system this year and then next year I expand on that another 10kW. Can I write off what I did this year and then next year get another 30% tax credit on the newly expanded portion of the system?

[Rob Beckers]

Nick, you'll have to read the actual text to find out the fine-print. You're south-of-the-border of me, we have different renewable energy rules over here (hard enough to keep up with those!).

-RoB-

[Nick Dan]

Thanks. I'll read more in to it. So far I haven't been able to find anything on this, but will keep searching.