Peace of Mind from the Sun

Recently, Up to 3 million people were affected by power outages across the state of Florida.

Investigators are still looking into what happened but it appears to short-circuit that caused a fire which interfered with 2 power distribution lines.

In an interview with the Sarasota Herald Tribune, a Solution Specialists for SolarDirect, Rex James, (Who was mis-quoted as being a Panel-Installer), said the outage is clear evidence that more residents need to get off the grid.

“It’s unreliable,” James said. “With solar you’re on an island, safe from the power outage.”

This is more and more true everyday. As the world expands our power grids struggle to keep up with the pace. Solar PV isn’t yet a realistic option for everyone but it’s becoming available to more and more people every day through these rebates, tax credits, incentives, net metering Renewable portfolio standards, evolving technologies etc. etc.

In the not-to-distant Solar looks bright, and that’s good for the planet, for us, and for our own futures. This black out comes as a serious reminder to those living in Florida with the constant threat of tropical activity potentially wreaking havoc on our power systems, Energy Independence is worth its weight in gol..err Silicon.

You can find Rex Jame’s Original (And much more informative) Letter here.

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It’s official, Florida Public Service Commission has Approved Net Metering

Florida Public Service Commission Approves Net Metering and Interconnection Rule

Tuesday March 4th 2008 Florida’s Public Service commission (PSC) has voted and approved net metering and expedited interconnection standards.

The rule was made to promote grid-tie and interconnected customers (Wind and Solar Electric power production) and reduce costs for those customers by allowing them to realize a faster payback and a better return on their investment into renewable energy technologies.

It further promotes renewable energy by expanding eligible systems from 10KW to a full 2MW and expanded the systems to include not only solar electric (Photo voltaic) but all renewable technologies.

“This rule is expected to increase the development of renewable generation in Florida, which will enhance fuel diversity and reliability,” said PSC Chairman Matthew M. Carter II. “Customer-owned renewable generation also effectively acts as a conservation measure by reducing the amount of electricity purchased from utilities.”

News Release: here.

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Florida Public Service Commission to Vote on Net Metering

On Tuesday March 4th the Florida PSC (Public Service Commission) Will vote whether or not to enforce Net Metering in Florida. Currently Florida power companies are only required to pay 4-5 cents per KWH of excess, much less than the rate consumers are actually charged. With net metering these companies will be required to credit retail billing prices to those customers who are contributing to the power grid with Solar or Wind grid-tie systems for a year, after which any remaining credit will be paid to the customer at the utility’s avoided cost.

This is a huge opportunity for Florida residents to realize an even faster return on investment for Solar Electric systems installed in their home or business.

Things are looking brighter for the Sunshine state!
Original Story: here

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