Solar Panels And Photovoltaic Feed In Tariffs

Solar panels with feed in tariffs are rates that utility companies would pay to the customer for their extra power that they produce by having rooftop installation. This is a great incentive to convert from traditional energy because the customer turns their investment into a money making one instead of just providing a reduction in their monthly energy bill.

California will show its first photovoltaic solar panels feed in tariff to replace the current incentive program as it is ending soon. The current program takes extra power and credits the customer in a net metering program. European countries like Portugal, Spain and Germany have had these programs for many years and are responsible for 75 percent of the global photovoltaic development. Portugal is 45 percent solar powered for their electricity needs.

Approximately 10 percent of energy in the United States is from renewable energy at this time, California gets 14 percent. Feed in tariffs are a step in the right direction for renewable energy to be more accepted. There is a downside to this, however, the panel companies could start to charge more for their products as the demand is driven higher.

PG&E’s main concern with the program is the cost could be set incorrectly and customers will be overpaying for renewable resources. Spain got into an issue with this issue by having a overproduction in 2008.

There is a concern that there could be a destabilizing effect, PG&E is recommending that regulators for state utilities allow the feed in tariffs to be enough to make incentives but not too high so as to destabilize. The rate of the tariffs needs to be around 15 cents a kilowatt range, according to an energy company owner, to be considered an incentive as opposed to a reimbursement. The program is excellent for California energy customers and California solar companies.

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    Published by: admin on March 26th, 2011 | Filed under Reviews



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