Florida beefs-up rates for net metering

It’s evident Florida lawmakers and regulators are taking steps to ensure that the Sunshine State lives up to its nickname. As reported by the Miami Herald, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will increase the rate paid to owners of renewable-energy systems. At issue is net metering, the process by which excess electricity from such systems—called net excess generation (NEG)—is fed back into the grid and credited to the customer’s utility account.

Under the old net-metering rules, utilities were only required to pay 3 or 4 cents per kWh. This was a criminally low rate, one that benefited the state’s investor-owned utilities while providing little incentive for residents and businesses to install renewable-energy systems. Under the new rules, customers with renewable-energy systems will have their accounts credited at the same retail rate at which they purchase electricity from Florida Power Cooperation, Florida Power & Light, and others.

There is a minor catch, however. While owners of small systems (less than 10kW in size) won’t be charged to set up a net-metering agreement, owners of medium-size systems (up to 100kW) and large systems (100kW to 2mW in size) will have to pay $400 and $1,000 applications fees, respectively. It’s rare to see residential systems over 5kW, so if you’re a resident, you’ll simply have to sign up for net metering with your utility. For more information, see the Florida PSC website.

There’s no doubt that the new rules are a step in the right direction. Under the Florida Energy Act of 2006, lawmakers set up the Solar Energy Incentives Program. The program provides a super generous rebate of $4 per watt rebate for solar PV panels, capped at $20,000 for residential systems and $100,000 for commerical systems. To put this in perspective, a typical 3.5kW residential system would be eligible for $14,000 in money from the state, an amount that would easily cut your total costs in half.

Funded at $3.5 million for 2007-08, and at $5 million for 2008-09, the program has been a victim of its own success: so many people have applied that all approved funding has been exhausted. This shouldn’t deter you from applying, however, as all approved applications will be placed in a waiting line for future disbursements. Hopefully the 2009-2010 funding cycle will be even larger. Coupled with the revised net-metering rules, a well funded incentives program would go a long way to promote the adoption of solar energy in the Sunshine State.

For more information on Florida rebates, tax incentives and other programs, check out our Florida page.