Illinois Solar Energy Association ISEA Blog

Jigar Shah's Message to Small Illinois Solar Companies

Michelle Hickey — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:16:05 GMT

Original Post at Heatspring Magazine by Brian Hayden

This week I flew to Chicago for the Illinois Solar Energy Association fund raiser. Jigar Shah delivered the keynote to 70 registrants, packed into Emmett’s Place in Palatine. I left at 9:30pm with an excited sense that Solar PV in Illinois is going to take off.

Worried you can't compete with

big, national solar companies?

"Nothing could be further
from the truth."

This was my second Jigar Shah presentation, (here is my first) and I’m on the verge of becoming a groupie – the guy spews useful information at a prolific rate. He delivered great Illinois-specific policy insights, but my favorite topic he covered was, “When explosive growth happens here in Illinois, and all of the big, national, solar installation companies begin flooding the market, and installed prices drop to $2.75/watt, how can you possibly compete?”

When Jigar asked this question, the room got quiet, because it’s a very real concern for the small businesses that have been pushing a big rock up a hill for a long time. They’ve built a market, invested in lobbying on the state level, and it would be bittersweet to watch the industry take off if they couldn’t reap the benefits. Here was Jigar’s encouraging message:

Worried you can’t compete with bigger solar companies? Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of you might get bought, as the bigger players don’t know your market. And some of you will grow to be the biggest players in this market because you know and care about your communities. That does still matter.

You guys have a lower cost structure than the big guys. Once you can get to 1 container/month, you’ll have the same materials cost structure, and you don’t have layers of management and overhead that the big guys do. The most profitable solar contractors in the U.S. are 1 office, usually a husband and wife team, with 2 crews.
The only thing big companies have that you lack, is confidence. You charge more because you plan to do one job per month and you need that job to cover salaries and overhead for that whole month. Build a model to find out what sort of volume you need to do to install for $2.75/watt and start working toward that. You have to believe it’s possible for it to work.
The biggest impediment to you making money in the solar business is the fact that you love solar so much, so you forget about the basic principles of business: you have to have more money coming in than going out.
Everyone here needs to understand third party financing. It’s not as complicated as you think it is, and it’s a fundamentally easier sell, so it’s opening up bigger and bigger markets. (Note: HeatSpring has a free online Solar Lease Training.)
It’s critical that you understand how the SRECs are going to be valued here in Illinois. Springfield is far, but you’ve got to go. You think you’re above lobbying and getting involved with government, but they need to see your face, and they need to hear where you’ve installed solar, and who your customers are. They care about that stuff and it makes a big difference. (Note: HeatSpring has a free online Understanding SRECs training.)

Events like this are a great reason to join ISEA, or whatever your local organization is. There’s no substitute for live networking, getting involved, and getting the inside scoop on what’s coming.

The Illinois market feels like Massachusetts in 2008. With the Renewable Energy World analysis of the Solar PV Market in Massachusetts in the back of my mind, I felt like I could provide useful lessons for how to win as the industry grows. I truly think we’re going to see something great happen in Illinois in the coming years.

Solar & EV charging Installer Certification

Michelle Hickey — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:52:34 GMT

Included in SB1652, now Public Act 097-0616, is a provision for the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to develop certification standards for solar PV and EV charging station installers.

Rulemaking on docket 12-0212 begins today. The ISEA is intervening and will participate in this process. ELPC and IBEW are also intervening.

Solar at work in the Midwest

Michelle Hickey — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:36:11 GMT

After watching this video you will want to get solar for yourself. Attend Solar Social (its FREE) on April 28th at Freedom Field in Rockford to learn how you can!

Solar road trip through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio demonstrating solar working in the Midwest.

Illinois REC Workshop #2 - April 2nd

Michelle Hickey — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:56:41 GMT

The Illinois Power Authority (IPA) is hosting a second workshop so that it may effectively include a distributed generation REC component, compliant with PA 097-0616, in its next Procurement Plan for 2013. Presenting will be Brad Klein of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, who along with Paul Neilan (energy lawyer) and Thomas Russell (of ComEd) have volunteered to help lead our discussion.

Monday, April 2, 2012
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Room N-505
Michael A. Bilandic Building
160 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60601
(allow time to go through building security)

Call In Information:
(877) 402-9757
Passcode: 9525407

Please indicate your attendance plans by emailing arlene.juracek@illinois.gov

Oak Park Avenue Garage gets Solar

Michelle Hickey — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:43:25 GMT

Here’s a cool time lapse look at 42 tons of galvanized steel being delivered and installed Sunday, Feb 19th to the Avenue Garage in Oak Park as part of a 390 panel PV project awarded to Solar Service in a design bid competition last fall. Next week we attach our panel racking to this support structure and hope to complete the project a couple weeks later.

The solar array on the parking garage will generate sufficient electricity not only to power the electrical needs of the garage, but also generate surplus power that can be sold back to the electric grid.

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Job - IL RE Sales & Outreach

Michelle Hickey — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:55:49 GMT

Community Energy, a leading national wind and solar energy marketer, is seeking energetic self-starters with a passion for promoting clean energy in and around the Chicagoland area. Promote clean, homegrown renewable energy and make a difference by signing up new residential customers for the 100% Illinois Wind and Solar Option. This is a community-oriented, grassroots effort and lots of fun.

Click here to read full job description

Illinois Plans to Procure Small Scale Renewable Energy

Michelle Hickey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:03:51 GMT

Public Act 097-0616_Senate Bill 1652 (page 9 line 19) stipulates that at least .5% of the Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2013 shall come from distributed renewable energy generation, .75% by 2014, and 1% by 2015. Half of the distributed generation requirement shall come from systems 25 kW or smaller. Table illustrating the Illinois RPS and the percentage to come from Distributed Generation.

The Illinois Power Authority (IPA) is hosting workshops to assist with the development of a distributed generation renewable resource procurement plan for 2013.

Please take the time to attend the workshop in person to show that there is a solar and small wind community in Illinois that will be greatly impacted by the results of this workshop process. It is important to voice your comments for the record.

Friday, February 24, 2012
1:00 - 4:00 PM
Room N-502
Michael A. Bilandic Building
160 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60601
(allow time to go through building security)

Dial-in information:
(877) 402-9757
Access Code 9525407

Distributed Generation Procurement Discussion Slides

In the first meeting the IPA would like to ensure that participants are all fully informed of the necessary criteria for the program and to start the discussion. In a second meeting participants will be welcome to present suggestions for how to deal with open items. A third meeting, if necessary, will serve as a summary meeting.

Please indicate your attendance plans by emailing arlene.juracek@illinois.gov

Comment on PACE Financing

Michelle Hickey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:43:47 GMT

Authored by PACENow.org

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a bipartisan local government initiative that allows property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for their homes and commercial buildings.

Interested property owners opt‐in to receive financing for improvements that is repaid through an assessment on their property taxes for up to 20 years. PACE financing spreads the cost of energy improvements such as weather sealing, insulation, energy efficient boilers and cooling systems, new windows, and solar installations over the expected life of the measures and allows for the repayment obligation to transfer automatically to the next property owner if the property is sold.

PACE is unique because it:

Creates badly needed local jobs.
Uses private capital, not taxes or government subsidies.
Saves money for building owners and increases property values.
Is voluntary – not a government mandate.
Promotes energy security without driving up energy costs.
Avoids the need to build costly new power plants.
Reduces air pollution.

PACE programs were up and running in several states with 27 others passing enabling legislation, but then the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) issued a July 6, 2010 statement prohibiting Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other governmental sponsored enterprises that it regulates from buying residential mortgages with PACE assessments.

The United States District Court in Oakland, CA found that FHFA violated the Federal Administrative Procedures ACT when it issued its statement. FHFA Rulemaking is underway with a 60 day Comment Period beginning January 26, 2012 to March 26, 2012.

To learn more about this topic and how to make a comment, click here to go to PACENow.

Read about Babylon's Long Island Green Homes PACE Program.

Additional Resources

Appraising Value of PV

Michelle Hickey — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:35:00 GMT

ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2012)
Consistent appraisals of homes and businesses outfitted with photovoltaic (PV) installations are a real challenge for the nation's real estate industry, but a new tool developed by Sandia National Laboratories and Solar Power Electric™ and licensed by Sandia addresses that issue. Sandia scientists, in partnership with Jamie Johnson of Solar Power Electric™, have developed PV Value™, an electronic form to standardize appraisals. Funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the tool will provide appraisers, real estate agents and mortgage underwriters with more accurate values for PV systems.

"Previous methods for appraising PV installations on new or existing construction have been challenging because they were not using standard appraisal practices," said Geoff Klise, the Sandia researcher who co-developed the tool. "Typically, appraisers develop the value of a property improvement based on comparable properties with similar improvements as well as prevailing market conditions. If there aren't PV systems nearby, there is no way to make an improvement comparison. When a PV system is undervalued or not valued at all, it essentially ignores the value of the electricity being produced and the potential savings over the lifetime of the system. By developing a standard methodology for appraisers when comparables are not available, homeowners will have more incentive to install PV systems, even if they consider moving a few years after system installation."

The tool uses an Excel spreadsheet, tied to real-time lending information and market fluctuations, to determine the worth of a PV system. An appraiser enters such variables as the ZIP code where the system is located, the system size in watts, the derate factor -- which takes into account shading and other factors that affect a system's output -- tracking, tilt and azimuth, along with a few other factors, and the spreadsheet returns the value of the system as a function of a pre-determined risk spread. The solar resource calculation in the spreadsheet is based on the PVWatts™ simulator developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which allows the spreadsheet to value a PV system anywhere in the U.S.

"With PV Value™, appraisers can quickly calculate the present value of energy that a PV system can be estimated to produce during its remaining useful lifetime, similar to the appraisal industry's income approach," said Johnson. "Additionally, a property owner thinking about installing PV can now estimate the remaining present value of energy for their future PV system and what it could be worth to a purchaser of their property at any point in time in the event a sale of the property takes place before the estimated payback date is reached."

The tool is being embraced by the Appraisal Institute, which is the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers. "From my perspective as an appraiser, I see that this is a great tool to assist the appraiser in valuations, and it connects to the Appraisal Institute's recent Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum. It's an easy, user-friendly spreadsheet that will not bog the appraiser down with a lot of extra time in calculations, and if they fill out the addenda properly, they'll be able to make the inputs and come up with some numbers fairly quickly," said Sandy Adomatis, SRA, a real estate appraiser and member of the Appraisal Institute.

Although the tool is licensed for solar PV installations, it could be used for other large green features in a home that generate income, such as wind turbines. The spreadsheet, user manual and webinar explaining the tool are available for download at http://pv.sandia.gov/pvvalue.

Solar Power Electric™ located in Port Charlotte, Fla., is an electrical contracting and solar integration company specializing in the installation of commercial and residential photovoltaic systems.

Systems Engineer Job

Michelle Hickey — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:56:43 GMT

Job Location: Chicago

Founded in 2008, this solar developer focuses on commercial solar projects between 200KW – 5MW+. This position is based in Chicago. They have secured strategic investors from some of the largest organizations in the country (including retail, health care, and real estate companies), and are bracing for an additional surge in commercial scale project installations.

This company has developed a proprietary, non-penetrating roof mount system which gives them an advantage over the competition regarding the logistics of installing a solar system. Quicker & easier installations = a winning competitive formula.

This is a progressive company that seeks fast thinkers with an independent attitude and an entrepreneurial mindset. If you want to get your foot in the door of the solar industry, this is a great place to start. We are currently seeking a System’s Engineer for our Chicago office in a full-time employment position, for immediate hire.

Responsibilities:

Create detailed electrical designs of PV systems and layouts.
Maintenance and monitoring of our existing 70+ commercial PV installations
Create drawings for bid documents, construction plans and permit packages
Partner with sales team to generate initial designs for proposals and assist the procurement process
Ensure that all designs are code-compliant (NEC Code)
Development of one-line documents for commercial solar projects

Qualifications:

Bachelor degree in Engineering: Electrical or Mechanical preferred
Significant Experience with AutoCAD
The ability to read/interpret construction drawings
Experience with MS Excel
Working knowledge of the NEC and electrical systems design of AC and DC systems
Excellent communications and problem-solving skills
Disciplined and self-motivated
Immediate availability preferred
Some travel required

Contact Bryan Villano, Bryan@TheCCEA.org with a resume and a short description of why this job would be good for you. He has a short attention span, so please keep that in mind.

Solar Rebates for CWLP customers

Michelle Hickey — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:46:12 GMT

City Water, Light and Power's Energy Services Office is now offering rebates to residential and business customers for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Solar Rewards rebates will be calculated at $1,500 per kW installed up to a maximum rebate of $15,000 per CWLP account. Rebates will last until budgeted Solar Rewards program funds are exhausted. Applicants will 1) be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, 2) must have CWLP metered electric service, and 3) must obtain pre-approval by CWLP before any equipment is purchased.

Rebate applications are available via the CWLP Energy Services Office nrgexprts@cwlp.com or can be requested by phone, (217) 789-2070.

Customers may combine their CWLP solar rebate with both Federal tax credits and State rebates to create a more affordable solar investment.

Here is a summary of the financial incentives available for CWLP PV owners:

1) CWLP Rebate $1,500/kW installed
2) IL DCEO Solar & Wind Rebate - $2.25/watt or 30% of project cost (typically opens in the fall)
3) Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit - 30% of installed cost
4) ISEA RECAP

Net metering and Electric Choice

Michelle Hickey — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:54:42 GMT

ComEd net metering customers can switch to an alternative retail energy supplier (ARES) to save money and/or opt for electricity from renewable energy sources, but there are a few extra steps involved.

Contact the ARES to request their Net Metering Application and learn about their enrollment procedures. Net metering is legislated by the state, so the rules are the same for ComEd and ARES.

Review your ComEd bill to see if you have any credits on your account. When you switch from ComEd to an ARES all credits will be lost. Since ComEd net metering enrollment periods are April and October, and all net metering credits are zeroed out after 12 months, then those are probably the best months to make the switch.

If your community has organized a Community Aggregation for electric supply, you may wish to opt-out and enroll, if possible, once your credits are used up and after completing the new supplier's net metering agreement.

For ComEd customers participating in Residential Real Time Pricing - this program requires a minimum of 1 year of participation before you can opt out and switch to another supplier.

This information was obtained from the ComEd Net Metering Department.

Solar & Wind Projects Funded

Michelle Hickey — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:59:27 GMT

IL DCEO has just shared some great news for Illinois solar and wind projects that applied for the 2011 Solar & Wind Rebate Program. Funds were shifted and IL DCEO is able to consider almost all of the $3.6 million in applications.

To all of these new system owners, please join the ISEA and let us know about your solar and/or wind systems for the upcoming 2012 Solar Tour and Renewable Energy Map.

ComEd Net Metering Statement

Michelle Hickey — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:27:00 GMT

We have an email statement from ComEd staff regarding net metering for small commercial and residential customers:

"ComEd staff believe that from a practical perspective, the company won't petition for a competitiveness declaration for the smallest commercial (under 15,000 kWh per year) and residential classes until all customers have a meter capable of reading energy consumption at hourly intervals (an interval data recorder or IDR). ComEd staff report that the company's current plan is to roll out IDR meters over the next ten years."

Source: Bill McNeil and Bob Garcia, December1, 2011, confirmed December 9, 2011.

Illinois Distributed SREC Procurement Plan - COMMENT TIME

Michelle Hickey — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:15:26 GMT

For those who have been following the IPA Draft Procurement Plan 2012 to include a distributed SREC plan, this blog provides next steps.

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issued a Proposed Order in Case 11-0660, the Petition for Approval of the Illinois Power Agency’s Procurement Plan. The Proposed Order says:

“The Commission believes it is best to defer consideration of a distributed solar generation procurement event until a more specific proposal is submitted by the IPA in the 2013 Procurement Plan that is consistent with the IPA Act. The Commission, however, accepts the IPA's commitment to hold workshops to thoroughly develop a distributed solar generation procurement and hereby directs it to do so.” Page 124.

All things considered, this language is encouraging. It is a clear directive from the ICC to the IPA to hold workshops to develop a distributed solar program and to include that program in the 2013 Procurement Plan. None of the intervening parties objected to this language in Briefs on Exception (Filed 12/1) or Reply Briefs (Filed 12/5).

The Commission is currently reviewing the entire case file and will issue a Final Order before the end of the year. There is a Public Comment opportunity available in this docket, and we encourage you to use it to express your support for a Distributed Solar Procurement Program. Most ICC cases are insider baseball - interested parties represented by lawyers participate in the formal legal proceedings, but it is rare that the Commissioners hear from the public. In this case, it could be very valuable for the Commissioners to know that people outside of the formal parties actually care about the outcome.

The ELPC encourages you to submit brief comments that:

(1) Tell the Commission who you are or who you represent. Are you a solar business seeking to grow in Illinois, a prospective solar investor, an architect, an Illinois electricity rate payer? Describe your interest in the case.
(2) Express support for the ICC directing the IPA to hold workshops to thoroughly develop a distributed solar generation program to be included in the 2013 IPA Procurement Plan. Consider suggesting features of the workshops, e.g. they should be transparent, inclusive…
(3) Encourage the ICC to also direct the IPA to develop a study identifying and quantifying the grid benefits of distributed solar in Illinois.
(4) Share your thoughts about how this program will benefit Illinois.

To submit comments :

(1) Go to the ICC’s comment page: http://www.icc.illinois.gov/docket/comment/
(2) In the pull down boxes at the top of the page, select “P” “11” “0660” then hit “Select.”
(3) Make sure you get to a comment form for Case 11-0660 – Illinois Power Agency Petition for Approval of the 220 ILCS 5/16-111.5(d) Procurement Plan.
(4) Fill out the form and hit “Submit.”

Since the Commission must issue the Final Order by December 28th, the Commissioners are reviewing the case file right now. Please submit your comments as soon as possible, but definitely within the next week (before December 21st). That way the Commission will have plenty of time to review comments before they sign off on the Final Order.

If you have any questions, please contact Madeleine Weil, mweil@elpc.org or Ashley Craig, acraig@elpc.org.

Thank you!

P.S. ComEd’s omnibus energy bill that was approved by the Illinois General Assembly during veto session in October-November contains several provisions with significant implications for Illinois solar stakeholders. It fundamentally changes the net metering statute, includes a distributed generation carve-out, and introduces certification requirements for solar installers. We will follow-up with another email within the next week to provide information about these changes.

Partner with the ISEA to RE-Power Illinois

Michelle Hickey — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:08:56 GMT

ComEd customers can now choose to be powered by 100% Illinois Wind and Solar, SAVE money, and RAISE money for the ISEA!

Switch to RE-Power Illinois to:

Support the development of new wind and solar projects in Illinois

Stimulate the economy and build green jobs in Illinois
Reduce your environmental impact
Save money on your monthly bill AND earn a $50 cash back bonus (Option to donate to ISEA)

Earn the ISEA a $20 donation by selecting ISEA as the How did you hear about us?

This 100% Illinois renewable energy option is offered through a partnership between electricity supplier Verde Energy USA and renewable energy developer and marketer Community Energy, Inc.

There is no binding contract or cancellation fee and the variable rate is currently 7.69¢ per kWh (ComEd is 7.733¢)

We know there are many people who would like to install a solar system or wind turbine on their property, but can't for a variety of reasons. Well, now you have the next best thing thanks to RE-Power Illinois!

The Illinois Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997 restructured the state-s electric service industry to allow a choice of electric suppliers. ComEd remains your electric utility, providing billing, customer service, and energy delivery. A line item is simply added for your new energy supplier.

It is so easy and can make such a difference in renewable energy development in our State. Why wouldn't you do this?

Share the link, www.communityenergyinc.com/isea, or download the print enrollment form to share this opportunity with friends and family members, colleagues, and neighbors.

Diehl Controls 1st Commercial PV Project in Naperville

Michelle Hickey — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:19:19 GMT

Two weeks ago Diehl Controls installed a 4.03 kW photovoltaic system on the flat-roof of the company site in Naperville and plans to officially announce the commissioning of the PV system on Dec 2nd, 2011 at 5 pm.

According to Naperville Public Utilities Diehl Controls NA is the first commercial photovoltaics system in Naperville.

Solar Service installed the 18 Sharp polycrystalline modules using a non-penetrating roof racking system. Diehl Controls supplied their Platinum 4301 S-A inverter and Platinum Webmaster internet monitoring system to complete the system.

Diehl Controls is located at 1842 Centre Point Circle, Suite 110, Naperville, IL.

Illinois Net-Metering Update

Michelle Hickey — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:39:57 GMT

The November 9th blog entry, "IL Net-metering dealt a blow," revealed the bad news about the net-metering policy recently passed in the state veto session. None of this information has changed, but if you are still confused the Environmental Law & Policy Center has taken the time to provide a summary of the statute (220 ILCS 5/16-107.5) to provide further clarification.

Download ELPC Summary of Illinois Net Metering Revisions.pdf

Solar - Better than Stocks

Peter Gorr — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:03:20 GMT

As a homeowner who recently installed a Solar PV system on my home, I am constantly asked about my payback. My response has been and continues to be “it made me a wealthier person the day the switch was thrown”. This response flies in the face of what people expect my response to be which is “20 years” or something along those lines.

My response is based on factoring into the economics of my system the effect on my net worth. Now I had to come up with over $46,000 to finance the installation, but received $27,000 in rebates and tax credits and am left with $19,000 “tied up” in the system. Note I consider my cash “tied up” not “gone” which the concept of payback implies. I consider this money tied up in the same sense that cash is tied up in an IRA or in stocks until you sell.

A study from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which came out in April, discovered that solar panels boosted home prices by approximately $3.90 to $6.40 per watt or $17,000 for a 3,100-watt PV system. Since my system is more than twice that size if I just double that estimation I am, as I stated earlier, a wealthier person from a net worth standpoint. Granted the proof is when I sell which I do not have plans to do, but it is important for someone considering a solar system to think in positive terms about all aspects of the purchase. It is just putting one’s cash to work that while it is “tied up” will return a dividend in the form of monthly energy savings. Again, for me, it has been a more stable and predictable investment than stocks (these days!) in that I get a monthly financial benefit (which equates to about a 5% annual return on my investment which is better than any CD) and all indications are when I sell this investment I will recover more than I put in. This is very similar to a dividend paying stock but with the very important environmental benefits which was the prime driver for my decision. Personally I couldn’t be happier and consider it a solid win-win investment which is rare to find.

In today’s Chicago Tribune an article, Greening your house for a sale, also refers to another recent study that supports the value addition to a home solar panels contribute.

I believe the industry must focus on changing people’s impulse to think “payback” and get them to think in terms of “net worth” and the discussion moves from being somewhat negative to instantly positive.

There is a great class that speaks to this topic, “Greening Real Estate – Appraisal value of green improvements” in Wheeling on November 16th.

IL Net-metering dealt a blow

Michelle Hickey — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:21:52 GMT

If you attended Solar Drinks last night, then you learned the ugly truth about what happened to net-metering as a result of the trailer bill (HB3036) to ComEd's bill (SB1652). Within 1-3 years, no ComEd customer will be eligible for retail net-metering.

ELPC and the ISEA have been advocating for an increase in net-metering from 40 kW to 2 MW and a bill with that language did pass Congress during this past legislative session, but then was swallowed by ComEd's bill. In the process of digestion the language was altered and became quite complicated.

Thanks to the dogged work of ELPC they unraveled the language and discovered the bad news. The net-metering cap was raised to 2 MW, but the electric customers who use that amount of energy are ineligible for the 1:1 kilowatt-hour credit because they have been declared a competitive customer. They would only receive ComEd's "avoided cost" credit (p.335) But that is only the beginning.

ComEd electric customers with peak loads of 100 kW to 400 kW (medium-sized customers) and 400 kW and above (large-sized customers) were declared competitive by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) in October and August respectively. A category of customers is declared competitive when more than 33% have chosen at least 3 different alternative Retail Energy Suppliers (RES) to supply their electricity.

It won't be long until all ComEd customers are declared competitive. This means no ComEd customer with a renewable energy system of any size will be eligible for 1:1 net-metering. All renewable energy customers will only receive the avoided cost. In essence Illinois has taken a mighty step backwards from the previous net-metering policy.

Off-grid living with battery storage is beginning to look appealing.