Net Metering bill in Florida.

[Dave Gray]

I don't know if this affects any of you, but a bill just passed in Florida that makes it way less cost-effective to run solar panels.

I am still learning the ins and outs.  ...but basically, you currently use something called Net Metering, where if you create more electricity than you use (which you do in the Summer months), you sell it to your neighbor, after the Power Company takes their cut.  Then, you get a credit that you use in the winter months when you aren't generating as much electricity.
 The new law will make it so that's not happening the same way.  It's a huge blow to me, as I'm working on getting panels instead and this totally changes the economics of it.

It could still get vetoed by Desantis and there's a lot of push back from solar industries and it's a popular system.   Jeez, I hope so.  That would really suck.  This seems like it was just lobbyists for FPL making this happen.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Make no mistake Florida just voted that it wants to increase US dependantcy on imported oil and accelerating the flooding of its coastline to the benefit of for profit utilities.

[Phishfan]

No chance he vetoes this. I thought you already knew about this. I thought it was strange you were deciding on solar panels now.

[CF DolFan]

Seems like it might be a temporary fix and will require new legislation down the road. The changes are in incriments and don't fully go into effect until 2029. Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes said he didn't like voting for it and that lawmakers could be destroying the solar industry instead of tailoring the end of subsidies. He also said “What needs a scalpel, we don’t have. We only have a sledgehammer, and doing surgery with a sledgehammer is incredibly messy,”

[Dave Gray]

It sounds like this probably won't affect me personally, as I would be grandfathered in at 1:1 rates with netmetering.  There's something about renegotiating the rates once 6.5% of the population move to solar, but who knows when that will be.

[Spider-Dan]

I've been on net metering since 2017.  It has an immense impact on the viability of solar panels.  Allow me to explain in a bit more detail:

Imagine you use 7000 kWh over the course of a year.  To offset these costs, you install a solar panel system that also generates ~7000 kWh per year.  But obviously, these 7000 kWh are generated only during the day... so any electricity you use at night (or on rainy days, etc) you have to pay for.

Without net metering, you will get charged for the energy you use when your solar panels aren't producing; let's call that 2000 kWh.  The average electricity rate in the US is $0.1375/kWh, which works out to $275 in utility costs.  On the flip side, during the daytime your panels generated 2000 kWh more than you used, but unfortunately the rate that the utility company pays to buy that extra energy from you is much lower; I couldn't find a national average, but I can tell you that my utility pays me about $0.03/kWh, which works out to $60.  $275-$60 means I still had to give $215 to my utility for electricity, even though I generated as much as I used for the year.

However, with net metering, it's a different ball game.  My meter runs forward when I'm using more than I'm generating, and it runs backward when it's vice versa.  Once a year, they do what's called a "true-up," where they check where my meter is compared to the year before; if it's higher, I pay the normal rate for that extra amount, and if it's lower, I get a refund.  (In CA, even if you're net negative, there is still a "grid connection fee" of a few bucks a month, which helps pay to run the power plants at night.)  Under this system, it doesn't matter what time of day I generate power; energy is energy and I get full credit for it regardless of when it's being generated.

[Dave Gray]

It's such a blatant way to fuck consumers to give more money to a big business monopoly.  I hate our legislature.  This is grossly unpopular with both political parties.

[masterfins]

I've been seeing advertising by Generac to sell their "power cells" that store your unused power from the daytime, so that you can use it at night or times when there isn't as much sun.  Probably their lobbyists influencing legislators so they can sell more products to consumers.

[Spider-Dan]

I've had a battery system (Tesla Powerwall) since I got my solar panels in 2017.  Without net metering, they are very cost inefficient and basically only serve to protect you from short power outages.  The reason why is pretty simple: you have to plan everything around the time of year where there is the least sun.  (Maybe in South FL, this isn't an issue?)

Essentially, in order to capture enough solar energy in the winter (when the sun's rays are not as direct and don't deliver as much energy) to power your house all night, you need a huge number of solar panels and enough batteries to hold at least a full day's worth of power.  And then in the summer, that same solar array is generating 10x-20x as much daily power as you need, and you can only store 1 day's worth of it.  Those excess solar panels came at a cost; cost that you won't recoup.

With net metering, this is much simpler: you size your solar array to match your excess generation in the summer with your shortfall in the winter, so that you work out as close as possible to zero net energy use for the year.