Home-Grown Electricity For the Grid

3/21/2008 -


Bill would allow sale of surplus power generated by rooftop solar panels

Some energy observers say the state is moving toward a future in which Californians will generate much of their electricity on the roofs of their homes and businesses.

But if that is California's future, it is not one that is approaching fast.

Despite the decisions by hundreds of homeowners to install solar panels in response to state and federal financial incentives, rooftop solar provides less than 1 percent of the electricity San Diego County residents use to light and cool their homes.

Bill Powers, an engineer from San Diego who suggests the region should set aside the idea of building a new power line and invest in rooftop solar instead, said there is a reason why: Homeowners can't sell surplus electricity to utilities.

Thanks to a law passed in 1996 when lawmakers set the stage for California's disastrous experiment with electricity deregulation, a homeowner can get a credit for the power he generates to offset his electric bill.

But if at the end of the year, if what's generated is more than what's used, the homeowner won't get cash for that power.

Instead, said Scott Anders, director of the Energy Policy Initiatives Center at the University of San Diego School of Law, "he is donating all that extra energy to the grid."

A state lawmaker from Northern California is trying to change that.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, has introduced legislation ---- Assembly Bill 1920 ---- that would require the state's private and municipal utilities, including San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, to reimburse homeowners for the surplus power they send to the grid.

"That is what customers are looking for," said Amy Morgan, a spokeswoman for the California Energy Commission, citing numerous calls to the agency on the topic.

Under the bill, the level of compensation for homeowners' surplus power would be determined by the California Public Utilities Commission. A hearing on the legislation is set for April 7 before the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee in Sacramento.

With the state moving aggressively toward green power and policies that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases being blamed for global warming, the bill's chances of passage are considered good.

As of Friday, SDG&E had not taken a position on the measure.

"We're hopeful that we can support the bill and don't see anything at this point that would keep us from supporting it," company spokeswoman Jennifer Briscoe said.

By allowing homeowners to produce more electricity than they use and get paid for it, the state Legislature would inspire more people to install solar panels and those who already are installing them to build bigger ones, Powers said.

Peder Norby, a Carlsbad man who recently installed enough panels to supply the electrical needs of his 4,600-square-foot home overlooking Agua Hedionda Lagoon, said he would have considered building a larger system if there had been a sell-back option.

Powers said if homeowners such as Norby had the advantage of that option, California would need fewer power lines and plants.

Powers strongly opposes SDG&E's proposed $1.5 billion Sunrise Powerlink transmission line, which would run 150 miles from El Centro to San Diego by way of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Ramona and Rancho Penasquitos.

In a report last fall, Powers called for an extensive rooftop program in place of the wires, saying the region could boost its supply from rooftops to 920 megawatts by 2020.

That's about 20 percent of the power SDG&E's customers in San Diego County and southern Orange County use today.

The existing situation is much different: All the rooftop solar panels across the region combine to provide 35 megawatts, Briscoe said.

It is not realistic to expect rooftop systems to supply most of the new power the region will need over the next decade because many times more than exist now will be needed, Briscoe said. And she said it remains difficult for many families to afford a system that, even with state and federal rebates, costs well more than $20,000.

"You're assuming that hundreds of thousands of homeowners and business owners would voluntarily install solar panels on their roofs," she said.

Consequently, Briscoe said, San Diego County will need a transmission line to plug into large solar-energy farms under development in the desert.

However, Powers maintained the 900-megawatt dream for 2020 is practical, and that the goal could be reached earlier with legislation clearing the way for selling surplus home-grown power.

Still, Anders said, the option itself won't enough to entice droves of people to install panels unless they can get a competitive price for their rooftop power.

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