Rolling Out the Welcome Mat to Alternative Energy in Alabama

The last thing we need is governmental barriers to development and distribution of alternative energy. We need to identify regulations and units of government that may hinder the implementation of solar, wind, CNG, hydrogen and other techlologies in our homes, automobiles and industries. After we have identified them, we need to convince the legislature to modify the regulations under which they operate so that their charter comes in line with the objective of making Alabamians more secure as we free ourselves from the stranglehold of foreign oil.

Tags: alternative, barriers, cng, hydrogen, legislature, regulations, rules, solar, wind

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Permalink Reply by Mudder on September 20, 2008 at 3:38pm: Mr. Chance, Howdy from Etowah County. While I agree with you, I have to wonder if it can be done without governmental interference??
2 things in our Great State are King,as you know, football and politics. If the politicians can't run it...well then they are gonna tax the daylights outta it.
Although I would like to see something or someone, give the utility companies a run for their money. Not to mention, benifit the public.
Glad ta met Ya, James/Mudder.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by W. Dan Chance on September 20, 2008 at 5:15pm: Hi James, If you thought there were any possibility of getting net-metering in Alabama so that people with solar or wind power installations for their homes could sell excess energy to the grid at the same rate they pay,... how would you go about it? Do you think we should start at the national level and ask Congress to mandate that all public utilities in every state provide for net metering. I'm pretty sure that state level public utility commissions are in-the-pocket of the utility companies. Maybe state legislatures?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by MIKE SUNDSTROM on October 14, 2008 at 6:05am: One problem when with converting cars to CNG is government regulations. The EPA only approves conversion kits for newer computer controlled fuel injected vehicles. As you know there have been vehicles on the road for decades using CNG and/or propane. It should be much less expensive to convert an older vehicle with a carburetor than one with fuel injection and a computer.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by W. Dan Chance on March 7, 2009 at 7:45pm: Let's see if we can't invigorate this group. I just found out that TVA has 17 participating distributors (that's local power utilities in Alabama that get their power from TVA who will buy excess power from homeowners and small busineses at ($0.15 home/ $0.20 business) per kwh. Soooo, even though Alabama does not have a net metering law, these communties that buy from TVA can do so. That’s a small but welcome step in the right direction. Those systems are as follows:

Distributor Phone Number
Cherokee Electric Cooperative (256) 927-5524
City of Athens Electric Department (256) 232-1440
Cullman Electric Cooperative (256) 737-3200
Cullman Power Board (256) 734-2343
Decatur Utilities (256) 552-1440
Florence Utilities (256) 740-6085
Guntersville Electric Board (256) 582-5691
Hartselle Utilities (256) 773-3340
Huntsville Utilities (256) 535-1200
Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation (256) 552-2300
Marshall-DeKalb Electric Cooperative (256) 593-4262
Muscle Shoals Electric Board (256) 386-9290
North Alabama Electric Cooperative (256) 437-2281
Sand Mountain Electric Cooperative (256) 638-2153
Scottsboro Electric Power Board (256) 574-2680
Sheffield Utilities (256) 389-2000
Tuscumbia Electric Department (256) 383-0321

(Correct me if I'm wrong but this language seems pretty straightforward.) If any of you live in these communities can you confirm that they are in effect doing net-metering? Then call me (256) 449-6151 or (678) 983-7985 if you want a system that you can rent. You do not have to purchase or lease the system. You do not have to maintain the system and if you move or need to replace the roof the system will be taken off your roof and re-installed either on your new home or on the new roof one time for free. You will pay a rental that is lower than your current utility bill and it will be locked in for the period of your rental agreement (that's up to 25 years). Imagine locking in your power bill for 25 years no matter what the price of oil does. Like I said this TVA information is new to me and I am enquiring with the company I represent to be sure they will work with this new TVA program but I think they will.

Participating power distributors in TVA’s Green Power Switch Generation Partners program offer production-based incentives for solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind projects to residential/small-commercial customers and incentives for PV projects to large commercial customers. The energy generated from participating projects is counted towards the green power resources for TVA's green pricing program, Green Power Switch.

Consumers participate as either residential/small-commercial or commercial customers. Under the residential/small-commercial contract, TVA purchases the entire output of a qualifying system at $0.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) through a participating power distributor and the consumer receives a credit for the power generated. Beginning in September 2004, larger commercial customers were also included in the program. Under the larger commercial contract, TVA purchases the output at $0.20 per kWh.
Qualifying sources for residential/small-commercial projects include PV and wind turbine systems with a minimum output of 500 watts AC and a maximum of 50 kilowatts (kW). For commercial customers, qualifying sources are restricted to PV. Although the maximum output for commercial generation systems remains at 50 kW, the power distributor and TVA may elect to permit larger systems on a case-by-case basis. Qualifying systems must be used primarily to provide all or part of the energy needs at a particular site and must not have previously fed into the grid. Installations must also comply with local codes and adhere to guidelines established by the program.

The owner of qualifying residential systems will receive $500 upon connection to the grid until a total system capacity of 150 kW has been reached. The installed capacity goal for the entire program is 5 megawatts (MW). The production incentive is available for a minimum of 10 years from the signing of the contract, regardless of the amount produced. Payment is made in the form of a credit issued by the local power distributor on the monthly power bill for the home or business where the generation system is located. TVA retains sole rights to any renewable energy credits.

As of January 2009, there were 85 distributors in seven states participating in the Generation Partners program; participation is at the discretion of the power distributor. For a current list of TVA distribution utilities in Tennessee participating in the program, refer to the Green Power Switch Generation Partners program website.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by MIKE SUNDSTROM on March 12, 2009 at 7:03am: DOES ALABAMA POWER DO ANY THING LIKE NET METERING ?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by W. Dan Chance on March 12, 2009 at 10:16am: Sadly, no. Even the most alternative energy minded PSC Commissioner, Susan Parker seems to be in a hammer lock of inertia when it comes to making any radical moves. She speaks to local civic clubs but her message is mostly about conservation. Unless there is a groundswell of support for alternative sources like solar from the grass roots of Alabama there will be no general, statewide net-metering. If you live in Alabama, please join me in writing the PSC on this issue. Start with susan.parker@psc.alabama.gov.; ▶ Reply to This