-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512


"Much Ado about Electrons"
by Colin Cogle

Written Tuesday, May 2, 2019.
Originally published in the June 2019 issue of "The Quinnehtukqut".

Online at https://colincogle.name/batteries


ABSTRACT
Can building-scale batteries bolster Connecticut's fledgling solar industry?


For almost a year, the ink has been dry on Public Act 18-50, also known by its
more phlegmatic name, An Act Concerning Connecticut's Energy Future (Looney, et
al). With its passage last spring, Connecticut is now on track to walk away from
the other 42 states and territories that have legalized net metering (National
Conference of State Legislatures), the popular concept that lets consumers who
generate their own electricity sell excess power back to the grid at the same
price at which they buy it. Once Public Act 18-50 goes into effect, the electric
companies' customers will be forced to sell it back at less than the retail rate
(although current residential solar owners will be grandfathered into net meter-
ing through 2039).

 Stephen Hartmann of the Danbury-based installer, Ross Solar Group said to the
Danbury News-Times (Soule):

"Homeowners need to be aware that [the repeal is] premature and unnecessary --
 and based on faulty logic. […] People should be concerned about net metering
 going away -- it's going to significantly diminish the value of what a solar-
 power energy system brings to a homeowner."

 In the new legislative session, P.A. 18-50 faces support and backlash, new and
old, from members of both parties, making it tough to predict whether or not it
will be amended or repealed before the state's 2,200 jobs in the solar industry
are affected.

 In the meantime, though, the Connecticut General Assembly's Energy and Techno-
logy Committee has already taken a look at in-home batteries.  These home energy
storage devices are made by many companies worldwide from small startups to tech
giants; the better-known models include LG's RESU, sonnenBatterie's Eco Compact,
and Tesla Inc.'s home-sized Powerwall and commercial-grade Powerpack.   These
large batteries charge off of a home's solar panels during the day in order to
power the home at night, with the added benefit of providing backup power in
case of a brownout or blackout.  (Connecticut does not allow time-of-day power
pricing, but in other states that let utilities vary their electricity prices
during the day, the battery can charge during off-peak hours and discharge dur-
ing peak hours to reduce the homeowner's electric bill.  This makes them an at-
tractive investment even for homeowners without solar panels.)

 This legislative session, Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-136) introduced H.B.6237,
"An Act Requiring a Study of Energy Storage Projects and Distributed Generation
in the State" to call for "a study of energy storage projects and distributed
generation" (Steinberg).  In a supporting opinion, the company SolarConnecticut
noted that more than one-third of people shopping for solar panels were also in-
terested in a house-scale battery (SolarConnecticut), and felt a completed study
could help the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection make better en-
ergy policy decisions in the future.  Regrettably, there has been no news about
this bill since a February public hearing.

 Whether you're looking at a battery for a smartwatch, cell phone, electric
car, or a house; the technology is improving while prices are dropping.  While
net metering in Connecticut appears to be in hospice, in-home batteries are al-
ready providing tangible benefits to homeowners with or without solar panels.


WORKS CITED

Looney, Martin M., et al.  "An Act Concering Connecticut's Energy Future."
       Legislative Commissioners' Office. 17 May 2018. 9. https://www.cga.ct.gov/
       asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2018
       &bill_num=9.  Accessed 1 May 2019.
National Conference of State Legislatures. "State Net Metering Policies." "State
       Net Metering Policies", National Conference of State Legislatures, 20 Nov.
       2017, https://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/net-metering-policy-overview-and-
       state-legislative-updates.aspx.  Accessed 1 May 2019.
SolarConnecticut.  "February 21, 2019 Comments to Connecticut General Assembly's
       Energy & Technology Committee from SolarConnecticut (SolarConn) Executive
       Directory Mike Trahan and SolarConn Government Affairs Committee Chairman
       Noel Lafayette, President SHR Energy."  Legislative Commissioners' Office.
       SolarConnecticut, 21 Feb. 2019, https://www.cga.ct.gov/2019/etdata/tmy/
       2019SB-00468-R000221-Lafayette,%20Noel-Solar%20Connecticut-TMY.PDF. Accessed
       1 May 2019.
Soule, Alexander. "As Key Solar Perk Hits Sunset, CT Grapples with Net
       Metering."  NewsTimes, 6 Apr. 2019, www.newstimes.com/business/article/
       As-key-solar-perk-hits-sunset-CT-grapples-with-13744689.php.  Accessed 2 May
       2019.
Steinberg, Jonathan.  "An Act Requiring a Study of Energy Storage Projects and
       Distributed Generation in the State".  Legislative Commissioners' Office. 25
       Jan. 2019.  Proposed H.B. 6237.  https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/
       cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2019&bill_num=HB6237. Accessed
       1 May 2019.

==============================================================================
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International license.  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

iHUEARYKAB0WIQQ7NZ6ap/Bjr/sGU4FSrfh98PoTfwUCYeR5sAAKCRBSrfh98PoT
f3sOAQDhL5rUWF2i4MjcpHMWL/eKNW32Zep6lJa3sdjZ8GvbtAD+ItuSsfQiCGOn
oE5GaauWqaRmAyvXBuSCAuW/c8B/oQk=
=CPTo
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

You are viewing proxied material from colincogle.name. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.