Some Maine householders trying to arrange photo voltaic panels have had their electrical energy requests turned down, saying there’s an excessive amount of demand to connect with an ageing grid that is operating out. in capability.
Photo voltaic panels are cheaper now than ever, with costs dropping by greater than 70 % over the previous decade, in response to the Photo voltaic Vitality Industries Affiliation. Panels may also get householders a federal tax credit score to scale back their federal revenue tax invoice.
However as many Mainers benefit from at this time’s aggressive pricing and incentives, they generally run into an issue: There is not all the time room on the wires to hook them up.
When householders are involved in residential photo voltaic, they normally name a photo voltaic set up firm. The corporate determines whether or not the placement is appropriate for rooftop or floor photo voltaic panels, and determines which system will meet the home-owner’s vitality wants.
Then, the corporate applies to a utility firm, corresponding to Versant Energy or Central Maine Energy Co., to attach their buyer to the grid. Utilities are accountable for the system of poles, wires, substations and different gear that make it doable to ship electrical energy. The photo voltaic set up firm’s utility contains particulars such because the variety of panels wanted and the kilowatts of electrical energy the home-owner’s system is anticipated to generate.
However just lately some Mainers have had their purposes denied resulting from a scarcity of electrical grid capability. One is Matt Quinn of Trenton, whose rooftop photo voltaic utility was denied by Versant on Dec. 7.
“The truth that we’ll personal our photo voltaic panels and basically scale back our electrical energy invoice by 80 % may be very impactful for us,” Quinn stated. He stated the state’s purpose of changing into carbon impartial and electrifying is essential, however for him “insurance policies do not depend on actuality.”
Danny Piper, the proprietor of Sundog Photo voltaic in Searsport, an organization that installs residential photo voltaic programs, stated he just lately noticed three different clients, along with Quinn, flip down their purposes to connect with the grid.
Versant, which serves 159,000 buyer accounts in northern and jap Maine, has not supplied another or proposed adjustments to assist Quinn join, Quinn stated. The utility’s e-mail response to him stated it denied his utility as a result of the technology degree would trigger excessive voltage within the current system. Versant additionally stated that the undertaking designed for Quinn’s residence doesn’t measure as much as small adjustments.
Connecting a particular undertaking can have an effect on the voltage of the bigger system or the ability high quality, each of which have to be maintained inside sure limits, stated David Littell, an vitality and environmental lawyer, and a former commissioner of the Maine Public Utilities Fee.
“It is undoubtedly a problem,” he stated. “It is actually in regards to the grid degree to accommodate the vitality and the voltage change.”
In any other case the voltage variations can harm the gear inside the house proprietor’s dwelling or the houses of others on the grid. He confronted the problem final yr when a change in voltage led to an influence surge and fried his electrical automobile charger, he stated.
The Public Utilities Fee has ordered utility firms, the most important of that are Versant and Central Maine Energy, to keep up ample energy ranges to keep away from points corresponding to voltage fluctuations and energy failures.
“When individuals generate a number of photo voltaic vitality and solely use a fraction of it, they launch a complete bunch of vitality into the grid for different close by clients to make use of,” stated Judy Lengthy, the communications supervisor. in Versant. “And if they do not produce sufficient photo voltaic vitality, they take the ability away from us.”
The electrical grid just isn’t designed to have a number of energy sources within the distribution system or to facilitate a two-way circulate of vitality, Lengthy stated. Moreover, utilities haven’t any discretion and are usually not allowed to save lots of room for rooftop photo voltaic packages.
“We really feel for these clients,” he stated. “However we carry them in on a first-come, first-serve foundation, and we have to research them to verify they’re secure and dependable.”
Granting residential photo voltaic connection requests was by no means an enormous downside prior to now, he stated. However with incentives to develop bigger group photo voltaic tasks, the necessity to connect with the grid has elevated, and utilities are dealing with a much bigger challenge.
“There may be a number of room within the distribution traces, and with all the necessity to join the bigger tasks, we’re operating out of house for all of the tasks with out the required costly upgrades required to keep up the security and reliability of the system,” Lengthy stated.
In Maine, there are extra requests to connect with the grid than ever earlier than.
“There are extra requests to connect with the grid, megawatts-wise, than we even have demand for electrical energy,” Lengthy stated. “So once we join all these tasks, we are able to produce extra vitality than we use.”
The Public Utilities Fee does not observe what number of residential photo voltaic tasks are denied statewide, however its chairman, Phil Bartlett, stated he does not imagine there are extra rejections than approvals.
“It could occur in some areas when somebody is in a circuit with restricted capability for brand spanking new photo voltaic, however that is not the norm,” Bartlett stated.
Central Maine Energy declined to say what number of purposes it rejected, however it sees a higher want to attach rooftop photo voltaic to the electrical grid, in response to spokeswoman Catharine Hartnett. It had 1,663 new rooftop photo voltaic clients this yr, greater than any earlier yr.
Versant, in the meantime, started monitoring the problem just lately when it was unable to attach 10 rooftop photo voltaic tasks resulting from a scarcity of capability, Lengthy stated. It has linked 485 rooftop photo voltaic installations as of 2020.
Connecting to the grid is likely one of the greatest points dealing with renewable vitality improvement not solely in Maine however throughout the nation, stated Littell, a lawyer who represents utilities and renewable vitality builders. He believes that the shortage of capability would require an improve of the electrical grid.
“However we actually want everybody to work collectively to successfully tackle these points,” he stated.
The typical value in Maine this yr to put in photo voltaic panels that produce 5 kilowatts of energy is between ,238 and ,262, in response to EnergySage, a web-based market the place individuals can store for native photo voltaic installer. It estimates that, for an average-sized system paid up entrance, a home-owner can anticipate to save lots of $22,693 over 20 years.
Mehr Sher is a Report for America corps member. Further help for this reporting was supplied by the Unity Basis and donations by BDN readers.
