[RE-wrenches] GTBB resistance

[Phil Undercuffler]

I've been watching this thread and was uncertain whether to chime in, but
this affects multiple installers and businesses including other inverter
manufacturers, so I'm going to put my industry hat on and wade in, in
support of GTBB as a class.

This fight has been active since April - May, after the update to the RPS
guidebook which was intended to clarify the role of energy storage in the
RPS. The utilities are doing everything in their power to abolish net
energy metering (NEM), and they are cherry picking parts of this new
language as one way of eliminating an entire class of customers from NEM.
 At first I thought it was just a bad interpretation, but more and more I
am being led to believe that folks high up at the utilities are passing
around the same sheets of music.  Perhaps you have heard the message they
are using now, that solar is an "unfair burden" on the poor ratepayers.
 Similarly, grid tie with battery backup is being tarred with language that
batteries are a non-RE "generator" and the utilities are just working to
protect the system.

There are numerous substantial benefits to energy storage on the grid, and
with AB 2514 we are seeing the beginning of an entire new era for the
industry, one that mirrors the early days of the solar programs in
California. However, arbitrage (buying low and selling high) is one of the
lousiest economic models for energy storage. Yes, perhaps you can make a
buck or two if the delta is big enough. However, that's like driving forty
miles in your 4x4 to use a dollar coupon instead of shopping at the grocery
store down the block. There are just better ways to make a buck.

At the end of the day, what should matter in NEM is what generated the
energy that is exported. The customer should be able to maintain their
battery by charging from grid, solar, or any combination. The batteries are
not a balloon -- energy used to charge them doesn't come rushing back out.
Batteries are like a bucket -- if the inverter can only sell what flows
over the top, then it takes solar input to begin flowing.

Ultimately, it's going to take a chorus of voices to get the CPUC to tell
the utilities to shape up and stop obstructing these systems.  If people
stay silent, the utilities get their way. It's your industry, it's your
business.  It's your choice.

Phil Undercuffler
OutBack Power
425-319-2821






On Wednesday, October 9, 2013, jay peltz wrote:

> Hi William
>
> I have been giving this some though.
>
> As we know it makes no sense, now.
> What don't we know about electric prices in the near future that might
> make this
> cost effective?
>
> Jay
>
> Peltz pow
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 9, 2013, at 12:03 PM, "William Miller" <william at millersolar.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'william at millersolar.com');>>
> wrote:
>
> Friends:****
>
> ** **
>
> I have been informed of another article on this subject:
> http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-07/battery-stored-solar-power-sparks-backlash-from-utilities.html
>  ****
>
> ** **
>
> The subject came up on this forum recently and most of us said or thought,
> “how stupid, there is no good reason to ever do this, the efficiency losses
> do not justify this!”****
>
> ** **
>
> Ironically, just a few days later one of us posted questions about how to
> do something quite like this (SW Inverters in energy management mode).****
>
> ** **
>
> Food for thought…****
>
> ** **
>
> William****
>
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