Renewable Energy World is out with an article on the impending implementation of the California Public Utility Commission’s decision to slash net metering rates and the response of one company to continue to encourage adoption of rooftop solar by offering a free battery to consumers as an incentive.
From Renewable Energy World:
California is one month away from implementing a policy that reduces how much customers with solar panels are paid for surplus power sent to the grid. The process, dubbed NEM 3.0, moves the state from a net metering framework to net billing, which incentivizes co-locating battery storage with solar systems.
In response to the policy change which takes effect April 15, Houston-based Sunnova said it would offer a "free" battery, which it valued at $8,000, to new customers.
The offer targets customers who sign up for a residential lease of both solar and storage services. It does not include the cost of installation, the solar system, or Sunnova's 25-year warranty.
Sunnova CEO John Berger said in a statement that the company views the net metering change as an opportunity to "seize the market and offer real solutions to our customers."
Last December, the California Public Utilities Commission approved changes to the state’s net energy metering tariff in a bid to improve price signals by better aligning them with the electric grid’s conditions, both day and night. In the ruling, the CPUC said that since implementing net energy metering over 20 years ago, California has witnessed the evolution of the customer-sited rooftop solar industry, resulting in the installation of more than 12 GW of clean distributed energy resources.
Last fall, Sunnova filed paperwork with California state regulators to develop a solar and storage-focused micro-utility. The proposal was seen as posing a relatively small, but novel, challenge to the state’s incumbent investor-owned utilities.
Under the proposal, a wholly owned subsidiary called Sunnova Community Microgrids California would own and operate energy as a service (EaaS) offerings in new communities, including energy generation, storage, and distribution infrastructure.
The business unit would develop largely self-sustaining micro-utilities by equipping new home communities with solar and storage. The administrative law judge presiding over the case for the CPUC issued a recommendation on Feb. 14 to throw out Sunnova's proposal. The CPUC must now vote on whether to accept the proposed ruling.
Check out the full story in Renewable Energy World.