Thoughts on Solar

With very little fanfare, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District ("SMUD") just convinced the California Energy Commission to allow it to offer a SMUD-owned alternative to installing solar power systems on new homes under California’s just instituted New Solar Homes mandate. As other municipal utilities lined up in support – including PWP, LADWP, BWP and GWP – it is clear that this is nothing short of a full-on assault against the New Solar Homes mandate. Here’s our take…

Solar added to a new home in Altadena

The intent of the New Solar Homes mandate was to install appropriately sized solar power systems on every new home in California.  There are many benefits to such a program, including providing distributed power across the grid, thereby increasing grid reliability, as well as generating jobs and raising public awareness as solar becomes commonplace. 

The SMUD scheme thwarts all of that.  Instead, a SMUD-owned solar farm would have it production allocated across participating new homes.  (Tellingly, the SMUD scheme does not permit privately built community solar farms to participate in the program!)  Worse yet, the SMUD scheme effectively prevents subsequent home owners from adding local solar, since the first 4,700 kWhs must come from the SMUD-owned facility.

So how did this get approved?  In addition to all of the municipal utilities in California lining up behind SMUD’s power grab, so did much of the building industry (as they can simply fill out paperwork for compliance instead of actually building solar systems), and the IBEW (whose members get employed when utility-scale solar farms are built).  On the short end of the stick are local solar contractors, and consumers who lose the power to choose their own, local solar system because the builder decided to opt-into SMUD’s scheme.

What say you, PWP?

Which brings this back home.  While Pasadena Water and Power did not submit their own letter of support (that we could find), their trade association, the California Municipal Utilities Association, did.  Now there aren’t that many new homes being built in Pasadena at this point, but can we expect to see a similar power grab from PWP?  LADWP did submit their own letter and there are plenty of new homes going up within the City’s boundaries - is a similar scheme in the works?

The utilities rely on consumers being largely uninformed as to these schemes to push them through.  We will be keeping an eye on what our local utilities bring forward in the coming months.  Watch this space.

Last month we wrote about a rebate program being offered by Pasadena Water & Power for both the purchase of an Electric Vehicle (new or used) as well as the installation of EV chargers.  Which got us to thinking, don’t the other local utilities have something similar?  Well guess what, they do!  Read on to see what might be available from a utility near you!

Southern California Edison (SCE)

SCE offers rebates for both purchasing an EV as well as installing a level 2 (i.e., 240 VAC) charger.

EV Rebate

The SCE rebate for purchasing an EV is $450.  Here are the requirements:

• You must be an SCE residential customer (vehicles registered to businesses are not eligible).
• The EV must be among the vehicles listed on the Drive Clean website (which lists 35 models of EVs from 2018 alone!).
• The vehicle’s registration address must be the same as the customer’s address with SCE, but the name on the service account need not be the same as that of the vehicle owner.
• The vehicle’s registration is current with the State of California.
• The vehicle has not received more than two rebates in the past.
• If you have multiple EVs, each vehicle is subject to a rebate if the above qualifications are satisfied.

To apply for the SCE EV rebate, go here.

Charger Rebate

SCE also offers a rebate of $500 to install a Level 2 charger at your home.  Here are the requirements:

• You must enroll in one of the available Time-of-Use (TOU) rates.  BE CAREFUL!  Depending on your usage patterns this might be a very expensive option!  Run on Sun can, for a nominal fee, assess your present usage and let you know what your annual bill would do under each of the available TOU rate options.  Please contact us if you are interested in our providing you with this service.
• You need to pull a permit for the installation, and have the work performed by a C-10 electrician (B contractors are not allowed to participate in this rebate program).
• You need to provide a copy of the signed-off permit after inspection and a copy of your permit receipt (be sure the electrician provides you with these documents).

To apply for the SCE EV charger rebate, go here.

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP)

LADWP does not appear to offer a rebate for the purchase of a new EV, but they do offer a rebate for purchasing a used EV, as well as installing an EV charger.  Their overall EV page is here.

Used EV Rebate

LADWP is offering a pilot program for the first 2,000 approved applicants who purchase an EV two or more years old (i.e., model year 2016 or older).  The rebate is $450 and opened on April 1, 2018. 

Here are the requirements:

• EV must be two years old or older, and never received an LADWP rebate for its purchase previously.
• EV must have been purchased after April 1, 2018.
• Permanent residence must be served by LADWP
• Complete the rebate application - download it here.
• Copy of DMV registration
• Copy of bill of sale
• Proof of residence

EV Charger Rebate

LADWP offers a $500 rebate for installing a Level 2 EV charger (i.e., 240 VAC).  Program requirements are:

• Completed rebate application - download it here.
• Proof of EV charger purchase - paid invoice that includes
• Purchase date
• Retailer name, address and phone
• EV charger make and model
• How paid for - check, credit card, etc.
• DMV registration that shows EV registered at account address
• Photos of completed installation, nameplate of charger (showing serial number, make and model number)

Interestingly, LADWP does not specifically require the installation to be permitted and inspected.

Burbank Water & Power (BWP)

BWP offers a rebate of $500 for residential EV charger installations.  (You can access the rebate application here.)  They do not appear to offer a rebate for purchasing EVs.

Program requirements for the EV charger rebate are:

• Applicant must be a BWP customer or charge their EV at a location served by BWP.
• Agree to be switched to a Time-of-Use rate in return for the EV charger rebate.  CAUTION: this could be an expensive switch.  Be sure to consider how and when you use energy before agreeing to switch.
• Application must be submitted within four months of purchase.
• Installation must be hardwired (i.e., not plug-in) Level 2, and permitted and inspected by the City.
• Supporting documentation including:
• Copy of charger purchase receipt/invoice
• Copy of installation receipt
• Copy of signed-off permit
• Copy of DMV registration
• Photo of installed charger

Glendale Water & Power (GWP)

As is often the case, GWP’s programs mirror those of BWP.   GWP offers a $500 rebate for residential EV charger installations, but nothing toward the purchase of the EV itself.  Here’s a link to their overall EV page.  One interesting wrinkle, GWP issues the rebate in the form of a credit on your GWP bill - none of the other rebate programs said that.

Here are the requirements for the EV charger rebate:

• Applicant must be an active GWP account holder.
• Charger must be a new, Level 2 (i.e., 240 VAC) charger, and the application must be submitted within four months of purchase..
• Installation must be permitted and inspected by the City if the charger is hard-wired.
• Supporting documentation includes:
• Copy of charger receipt/invoice
• Photo of installed charger
• Copy of labor receipt (optional)
• Copy of the signed-off permit (if required)
• Copy of DMV registration and car purchase or lease agreement

Access the GWP EV charger rebate application form here.

Last month during Intersolar, I (along with colleagues Sara and Victoria) was lucky enough to get invited to see a microgrid demonstration featuring the Enphase next-gen IQ8 at their headquarters in Petaluma, California.  As I had to sign an NDA as the price of admission, I was unable to write about what I had seen until today, when Enphase hosted their annual Analyst’s Day.  But I am no longer bound by that agreement, and can now tell you about what I saw. 

To say that I was impressed would be a gross understatement - quite simply, it was the most astonishing thing I have ever seen in the solar industry.  Settle in and let me tell you what I saw…

What Happens Today

Before I launch into describing the demo, let me remind you of what happens today.  All of the systems that we have installed are what is referred to as “grid-tied” which means that if the grid goes down, the PV system that is capable of back-feeding the grid also goes down, and remains down until the grid comes back.  (This is to prevent your house from being an island of energy, feeding the grid, and potentially injuring a worker trying to restore grid service.  As a result, this feature is known as “anti-islanding” and it is required of all inverter systems that are connected to the grid.)

Normally this is not a problem, but last month, when it got super hot out here (think 115° F hot!), both SCE and LADWP suffered dozens of outages, taking down PV systems across large swathes of LA County, and leaving frustrated PV owners without power, or A/C, just like their PV-less brethren.  Not good.

What I Saw in the Lab

Which brings us to what I saw at Enphase last month.

The lab looked like an ordinary industrial space, but with a series of household appliances and tools at one side.  There was a simulated array feeding a bank of IQ8 inverters, and a display that showed the output of the array (i.e., PV production), the total consumption from the loads, and any power being exported or imported to support those loads.  At the start of the demo the only load was a single red lamp, and the display indicated that it was drawing roughly 90 Watts.  The PV array was producing roughly 1.9 kWs, so the excess 1,800 Watts was being exported to the grid.  All super normal stuff.

But then things got interesting…

One of the engineers switched off the breaker that connected the PV array to the grid… and nothing happened!  Well, actually, a lot happened, but what didn’t happen was that the red light did not go off.  It didn’t even flicker to the extent that we could detect it.  But then when you looked at the display you noticed something amazing.  Not only had the microinverters created a grid on their own in fractions of a second, but they had throttled the output down so that now the production of the PV array exactly matched the load of the red light!  And here’s the kicker - there were no batteries attached to this system!!!

But what fun is just having a light on?  How about some toast?  So they switched on a toaster, and it lit up, and the total load jumped by about 1,000 Watts, making the total load now around 1.1 kW, and the PV array scaled up to meet it!  Still no batteries.  And how about this - there was no central controller, no master-slave relationship between the microinverters.  Rather, this was the “hive mind” at work, as the micros sensed the demand and scaled up or down as necessary to meet that load!

But wait, there’s more!

The next load to be added was a grinder like you might find on your workbench in the garage.  All by itself, that device drew roughly 1,200 Watts, bring our total load to roughly 2.3 kW - more than the maximum output of our simulated array.  What would happen when that was added to the mix?  Surprisingly little.  The grinder spun normally, but the red light dimmed slightly.  What was going on?  The system’s “hive mind” had lowered the voltage slightly (a microgrid equivalent of a brown out) to meet the amperage demand of the new load mix!  So slightly slower than normal, cooler than normal, dimmer than normal, but all operating.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.  Our already overloaded microgrid faced one more challenge - a vacuum cleaner with a significant in-rush current, far in excess of what the grid could sustain.  Indeed, as soon as they switched the vacuum cleaner to “on", everything shut off.  Nothing was damaged, the microinverters just shut off to protect themselves.

Turning on the vacuum cleaner served as the “ah-ha” moment for the potential homeowner - I guess I can’t run everything in grid outage mode.  So what do you do when something you just did produced an undesired result?  Well if you can, you undo it!  Turning the vacuum cleaner off, immediately restored the microgrid to its previous state of operation!  No delay.  No human intervention - just turn off that latest (over)load, and the system recovers on its own!

How cool is that?  Pretty damn cool, if you ask me!

Batteries Please?

So what about batteries, how do they play with this new system?  Just exactly as you would want.

The engineers added a bank of batteries to the mix, each with an IQ8 installed.  Now the display also indicated the battery’s overall state of charge, and whether they were charging or discharging.  Reset the demo to just the red light as a load and the batteries at 30% state of charge.  The PV array output jumped back to its maximum, with the surplus energy being used to charge the batteries.  As more loads were added, the PV array remained at maximum output, and as needed, drew power from the batteries.  Should the batteries reach full capacity and the PV output is greater than the loads, the microinverters will once again throttle down.

Sweet!

What’s Next?

I hope you agree that this was an amazing demo, and the IQ8 (or Ensemble, as Enphase refers to the overall system) has tremendous potential, both for Enphase as a company, and for so many nascent markets.  Think of how this product could have helped out in Puerto Rico, or in parts of Africa which have never, ever seen a grid!  Makes me want to book a trip to bring power to a village somewhere - hey Laurel, what do you say?

For our own clients, this has the potential to be the answer we have been seeking ever since Elon’s whoppers got people thinking about storage for the first time ever.

A point we raised with Enphase management is the need to have a reasonable upgrade path for existing clients.  Indeed, I have a call with Enphase tomorrow to discuss that very topic.  We know that current Enphase IQ products (the 6+ and 7+ we have been installing this year) will be compatible with Ensemble.  We expect to be able to work with older systems, though there may be a higher retrofit cost.  When we have that information, we will surely let you know!  The IQ8 is expected to be available in 1H2019… watch this space!

Los Angeles doesn’t have a great reputation for being green. Sadly we are better known as a car-centric city frequently afflicted with smoggy skies. In fact, Los Angeles has been ranked the worst air pollution in the nation. Recently our fair city took one step closer to changing that! Last April the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve a motion asking the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to develop a plan for how the city can move toward 100% renewable sources of electricity. LADWP - the largest municipal utility in the country - currently gets about 20-25% of its energy from renewables (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and waste). The biggest challenge to going 100% green will be to convert from a grid which relies on coal and natural gas, which can adjust supply to meet demand, to one which can handle the fluxuations of solar and wind. The largest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions - nearly 9 million metric tons - will be through DWP’s existing plan to eliminate coal-fired power plants from their energy mix by 2025. (Side note: Shockingly, Pasadena’s energy mix coming from Pasadena Water and Power, has an extraordinarily high percentage of power coming from coal at 34% compared to CA average of 6% with no plans as of yet to move toward renewables! Hopefully they’ll follow in LA’s footsteps!)

Another 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions result from the remaining energy sources in LADWP’s mix, largely natural gas. As we move away from coal we need to be careful to not be lured to just switch to cheap natural gas. Last year the Aliso Canyon gas leak disaster - the worst in US history - proved this fossil fuel is a very dangerous source of energy for our communities. 11,000 residents were evacuated and hundreds reported methane-related illnesses from the leak. Aliso released 100,000 tons of methane, which has a warming effect 80 times higher than CO2 over the short-term. Currently there are also natural gas storage facilities in Playa del Rey and Playa Vista. Obviously natural gas is a serious threat to our public health and the environment. If we are going to get to a fully clean power supply a commitment similar to the departure from coal needs to happen with natural gas… and the faster the better. 

With a 100-year old grid supplying 4 million Angelinos with power, LADWP is poised to make significant infrastructure investments. This is the perfect opportunity for the city to upgrade the system to accommodate the potential for a fossil-free future. Councilman - and co-author of the City Council motion - Paul Krekorian, emphasized the urgency for Los Angeles to move to clean energy:

“This is an enormous step forward that will help restore our environment and lead us to a sustainable, fossil-free future. For the third year running, Los Angeles was ranked as having the worst air pollution in the country, which is unacceptable and unhealthy for our families and neighborhoods. To reverse this trend we need big thinking and bold, smart action." 

While Mayor Eric Garcetti has already set a goal of reaching 50% renewable energy by 2030, this recent legislation is only a starting point to research how to get to 100% but has no set timeline. This is a crucial first step, however, we are really looking forward to hearing the results of DWP’s research. A realistic but ambitious time-bound roadmap to ending our reliance on fossil fuels is crucial to improving our chances of preventing climate change’s most damaging effects.

San Francisco and San Diego are also among eighteen other cities who have committed to 100% clean energy goals recently. Four cities are already proving it is possible with fully renewably powered systems! Los Angeles, as the 2nd most populous city in the country and most polluted, can serve as a particularly powerful role model for cities and jurisdictions across the country. These plans have the potential to both help stop devastating climate change impacts but also to boost economies in the process. Some opponents of a renewable transition worry that it will hurt the economy but the growth of renewable jobs in recent years and a growing local economy has proven that is a false threat. Last year’s solar census reported that 10% of solar jobs - over 21,000 well paid jobs - are in Los Angeles! Going green saves money in the long-term. A report from the New Climate Economy found cities could save $17 trillion by 2050 by pursuing low-carbon solutions such as public transport, building efficiency, waste management and ‘aggressive’ solar implementation.

Now is the time to kick our transition to clean energy into high gear at local and state levels! We look forward to being part of the solution!

UPDATE - 5/28/16 - Despite our best efforts, AB 2339 was HELD in the Appropriations Committee, effectively killing the bill this session.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to call and voice their support for the bill.  Special thanks to Frank Andorka who created a podcast in support of the bill, all the way from Cleveland!  We lost this battle, but the fight continues.

UPDATE - 5/26/16 - We passed the Assembly Utilities Committee on a 10-2 vote, but right now we are stuck in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, chaired by San Diego Democrat Lorena Gonzalez. The decision of whether to allow AB 2339 to  advance to the Assembly Floor rests in the hands of two people: Chair Gonzalez and Speaker Rendon.  Please take a moment to give them a call and urge them to support the bill.  Here are their numbers:

• Lorena Gonzalez, Chair Assembly Appropriations Committee: 916-319-2080
• Speaker Anthony Rendon: 916-319-2063

Thanks!

Back in February we wrote about the new Net Metering 2.0 rules that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved over the objections of the Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E.

We noted at the time that the CPUC rulemaking did not directly affect the Municipal Utilities (munis, like Pasadena Water and Power). Boy was that right as muni after muni is looking to shut down Net Metering altogether! Here’s our take, and more importantly, an action item that you can take to preserve Net Metering with the munis.

How We Got Here

The munis  are generally free, within the limits of state law, to set their own policies as confirmed by the local city council.  So here in Pasadena, PWP sets its policy but has to have that policy ratified by the city council’s vote.  When it comes to Net Metering, state law requires that the munis, like the IOUs, offer Net Metering agreements until the amount of solar deployed exceeds “5% of the electric utility’s aggregate customer peak demand.” (CA Public Utilities Code § 2827)  Now if that quote seems like less than a model of clarity, you are quite right.  Before the CPUC, the IOUs argued that it meant that you look at a utility’s highest peak demand as of a certain point in time, and that would be the cap.  Such an interpretation, however, reads the words “aggregate customer” out of the statute.  The CPUC agreed, and the proper interpretation requires the utility to sum the aggregate demand from each customer and that becomes the cap.

The results are dramatic - the proper interpretation effectively doubles the total amount of solar allowed under the cap.  That decision by the CPUC back in 2012 redefined Net Metering, but only for the IOUs.  At the time there was little concern regarding the munis since none was close to reaching their cap. 

Fast forward to today and five munis have already reached their caps, as calculated under the old, pre-CPUC ruling, methodology.  That leaves them free to replace Net Metering with whatever they choose, and at least one, Turlock, has adopted new rules that have resulted in an 85% decline in the solar market there!  (In contrast, LADWP has already agreed to the new methodology thanks to leadership from Mayor Garcetti.)

Support AB 2339!

Fortunately there is a fix in the works.  AB 2339 (Irwin - D-44) will require that the munis calculate their caps in effectively the same way as the IOUs.  The bill is presently in the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, chaired by Mike Gatto (D-43) - a former student and colleague of mine, and a champion of clean energy.

We need the strongest bill possible coming out of the committee, and you can help make that happen.  How?  Our friends at CALSEIA have compiled a target list of key assembly members who need to here from their constituents on this bill.  From the CALSEIA newsflash:

Target List:

• Jim Patterson (R-Fresno/Clovis) 916-319-2023
• Susan Eggman (D-Stockton/Mountain House/Thornton/Tracy) 916-319-2013
• Mike Gatto (D-Burbank/Glendale/La Canada/La Crescenta) 916-319-2043
• Bill Quirk (D-Hayward/Ashland/Castro Valley/Cherryland/Fairview/ Fremont/ Pleasanton/San Lorenzo/Sunol/Union City) 916- 319-2020
• Miguel Santiago (D-Huntington Park/Vernon) 916- 319-2053
• Eduardo Garcia (D-Imperial/Blythe/Brawley/Calexico/Cathedral City/Coachella/Desert H.Springs/El Centro/Indio) 916- 319-2056
• Christina Garcia (D-LA/Bell Gardens/Bellflower/Cerritos/Commerce/ Downey/Montebello/Pico Rivera) 916- 319-2058
• David Hadley (R-Torrance/Gardena/Lomita/Manhattan Beach/Palos Verdes Estates/Redondo Beach/West Carson) 916- 319-2066
• Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) (916) 319-2019
• Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside/Calsbad/Encinitas/Vista) (916) 319-2076

If you live in one of those districts, or if you run a business in one, or have customers there, please contact that member.

More generally, there is a website where anyone can go to express their support for expanding the benefits of Net Metering to muni customers throughout the State.  Just click on the button to make this happen:

Sadly, the list of entities opposing this bill includes Pasadena Water and Power - looks like we need some political leadership here in our own backyard to get PWP on board.

We will update this post as the bill progresses through the legislature - watch this space!