PV buydown policy request [RE-wrenches]

[Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection]

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Brian, Bob, Allen, ETAL,
Agreed, agreed, agreed.  The front end loaded incentives are ever 
worse than we've been discussing. What they do is maximize the PV in 
relation to the inverter. When there is a financial incentive to do 
that, it's going to happen nearly every time. It's utterly stupid in 
every way but financially because of the way the incentives are set 
up.
Good electrical practice is to load things up only to 80% of 
capacity. We do that with conductors, bussbars, etc., all the time. 
Every published inverter curve I've ever seen shows the sweet spot of 
maximum efficiency somewhere around the 75-80% of capacity line. It 
just stands to reason that inverters (or any other electronic device, 
for that matter) will last longer if run at 80% rather than 100% of 
capacity. Heat kills. Screw five year warrantees, the SYSTEM should 
last 20 years. In a production credit situation, the design criteria 
would be maximum efficiency and long life, not this bullshit upfront 
buydown. This is something the Wrenches "wing" of SEIA (and CalSeia 
in particular) should be focusing on. If the maximum allowable PV PTC 
watts were limited to the nameplate watts of the inverter, not only 
would systems last far longer, but the public benefit monies would go 
about 10% further. That ain't hay.
Bob-O (the Grinch)

>Hi all -
>
>My two cents: Production-based incentives are the best way to drive 
>the industry to the places we want to be. In fact, I'll be 
>presenting a paper on this at the ASES conference. When it comes to 
>site selection, installation quality, component reliability, system 
>performance, and end-user visibility, there's no benefit to the 
>front-end buydowns. If a site has a problem from Day 1, it's 
>possible that nobody would ever know. If tax payers are looking to 
>get the most for their money, this is the way to do it - money for 
>energy, not the theoretical possibility of energy.
>
>Beyond that, it incentivizes installers and manufacturers to build 
>systems that lasts as far into the future without servicing as 
>possible. Under the current system, there's no immediate financial 
>advantage to a home owner/installer for installing a product that 
>lasts 20 years over one that lasts five. Installers can focus not 
>just on initial install cost, but life cycle cost. Warranties alone 
>don't cut it - who's to ever know the system is working if there's 
>no feedback mechanism?
>
>This financial system also eliminates any of the controversy and 
>uncertainty from the myriad of different operating points inverters 
>and modules work at - one no longer needs to deal with a single 
>number that may or may not correspond to an oft-seen reality in the 
>field.
>
>Overall, I think it's not a matter of whether it's a better system 
>or not, becuase it so clearly is - it is just a matter of how you 
>get everyone on board.
>
>
>Brian
>
>
>Brian Farhi
>Fronius USA, LLC
>Solar Electronics Division

-- 
Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection
PO Box 203, Hornbrook, CA 96044
800.945.7587 or 530.475.3402
fax 530-475-3401
www.electronconnection.com

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