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Sell Your Excess Power with Net Metering

If I install wind or solar or other alternative power what happens if I produce more power than I use?

You can store it, usually in batteries, or you can sell it back to your local power company.

Batteries are best when the location does not receive power from the local power company and the location is considered “off the grid” that is not connected to a commercial power source.  This does not apply to most locations, as most locations are “on the grid” or connected to the local commercial power company.  (Consumers Energy or Great Lakes Energy in this part of Michigan}

When you are connected to the grid, that is you get power from a local power company and get a bill for electricity each month, you can sell the electricity you do not use back to the local power company.

In the state of Michigan as of April 2009, net metering is required from all electrical suppliers in the State of Michigan. Net metering means that the power company must pay you the full retail price for the power that you sell back to them, typically any excess power your alternative energy source produces.  Typically if your electricity costs $0.10 per kilowatt hour (kwh), the power company will pay you $0.10 per kwh for the power you supply to them.

There are likely some fees and costs that will reduce that amount, but it’s too new to provide an example. However you can contact Consumers Energy for more detail.

http://www.consumersenergy.com/welcome.htm

If you sell back to the grid you will need special meters and devices that make the power your system generates compatible with the power from your supplier.  There are also fail safe interconnections that shut off the power that is supplied back to the grid from your power source when there is a power outage.  Some of these systems will continue to power your home or business, and will automatically switch back to the grid when the outage is fixed.

Consumers Energy now also has a unique experimental program that pays much more than the meter rate for solar generated electricity.  They call this a buy-back program. In this case they will buy electricity produced by a solar installation for the following purchase rates:

Purchase rates for 2009 and 2010 are as follows:

• Residential: $0.65/kilowatt-hour (kWh) for systems available in 2009; $0.525/kWh for systems available in 2010.  
• Non-residential: $0.45 kWh for systems available in 2009; $0.375/kWh for systems available in 2010.

Solar systems that receive the residential tariff rate may not be located on property that is used for commercial purposes, such as rental properties, warehouses, workshops, office buildings, etc.

There are many more details available at: http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=MI24F&re=1&ee=0&printable=1

IF you can qualify for this program you will receive about 4 times as much for the solar power you supply than the cost of the electricity you buy.  This system uses a meter to determine how much power you supply and a separate meter for the power you use. Consumers Energy will purchase all of the electricity produced by the system through a fixed-rate contract of 1 to 12 years. Electricity production is metered separately from the customer's existing electricity source (i.e., the grid). Participants are assessed a monthly System Access Charge equivalent to the existing distribution account used to qualify for the program to cover metering costs.

Either way you go, you must start by working with the power company to determine eligibility and the details necessary to have the system comply with State and the utilities rules.