Thursday, January 26, 2012

Solar value increases with time-pricing


Last week I wrote about the time-of-use pricing scheme that PG&E offers in San Francisco, and how solar power is worth 14% more compared to a standard flat-rate electricity plan.  In reality, it's 36% or more.
In the interest of simplicity, I only looked at the rates PG&E charges for using up to ~250 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month (their "baseline" rate).  But baseline rates only apply to the first 3,000 kWh consumed per year, one-third the U.S. average.  Very few customers use so little electricity.
Rather, most customers will consume electricity in Tier 2, which applies to consumption from 3,000 to 6,900 kWh per year, or even Tier 3, which applies to consumption up to 14,500 kWh.  And the electricity rates in these tiers are substantially higher.
Read it at Energy Self-Reliant States
Electricity Priced by the Hour Boosts Distributed Solar Value by a Third or More
by John Farrell
(h/t Climate Progress)

No comments: