New member from Delaware. Work for local electric utility. Looking at solar.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Hi there. Just wanted to introduce myself before I ask my questions on another forum.

I'm an engineer at Delmarva Power which is the local utility in the Mid Atlantic Region. We actually make up three utilitiies. Pepco, Delmarva, and Atlantic City Electric. In my work I occasionally deal with solar issues. For example, happenstance, I got an email from a customer earlier this week. He's had solar for three month now but his August bill makes no sense. I've looked it over and I suspect it's a billing problem, not an issue with his solar. But I'm still investigating and waiting to hear back from a billing expert.

Anyway, It occurred to me about a month ago that if someone wanted to add solar in Delaware, now's the time to do it. I've had multiple, multiple, multiple people, both in the company, previous contractors I've worked with, and others, say that I should look at paying between $3 and $3.30 a watt to putt solar on my roof. In the last 12 months I've used 5,500 kWhrs so using PV Watts I've calculated that I would need about a 4 to 4.5 kWhr array on my roof. Local rules will probably prevent me from putting up anything more than a 4.5 kW system.

My understanding is that the Feds will give me a 30% tax credit. In the state of DE they will rebate you $0.85 per watt of your system. So assuming I can get a 4 kW system for $3.15 a watt...

4 kW System Cost at $3.15/watt = $12,600
Federal Tax Credit = $3,780
Delaware Solar Grant = $3,400
Out of pocket costs after grant = $5,400

Estimated annual electricity savings = $900 a year.
Payoff - 6 years.

So I did the math and it makes sense. And now seems to be the time to do it. The tax credits expire in 2016 and I doubt they'll be renewed at the same level. The price of solar has dropped substantially in the last few years. They may get rushed next year. So I'm looking at my options.

If anyone had electric utility questions in the Mid-Atlantic, you can send me a message.

[Naptown]

What is up with the areas that are restricted or more solar.
I find it hard to believe certain areas are over saturated with solar.
And the interconnect times with PHI are obscene.
Oh and yes it is a good time to install before the fed credits run out.

[Admiral Ackbar]

On the PHI Side, there are a number of issue. The sheer growth of solar in the area has been crazy. It has doubled every year. Add in solar leasing that has recently come to the area. That has also boosted the sheer volume of applications. We're currently hiring additional staff, improving our processes, and working as hard as we can to process applications. Further, we have regulatory requirements that we're obligated to meet in the application process. All I can ask is to be patient while we make these improvements.

We're not the only ones struggling in the Mid-Atlantic. The state of Delaware has similar problems. They have received so many applications they're currently projecting a +30 month turnaround to process the solar grant. Thirty months! That's over two years.

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/energy/services/GreenEnergy/Pages/GEPDelmarva_F.aspx

So everyone became swamped with solar requests. Especially this year.

As for solar restricted areas. I can't really answer that specifically. Requests get sent to System Planning for review and they determine if the circuit can handle the additional solar or not. The issue is not necessarily that there is a ton of solar equipment on the circuit. It's could be that the circuit, while perfectly serviceable for current distribution needs, has issues that will prevent system planning from allowing solar growth.

To give a practical example, in one of my previous jobs, we had a circuit in a wooded area that had some reliability issues. We wanted to add automatic switching but we couldn't. The circuit couldn't handle the load if we had done the auto switching scheme under certain load conditions. So the company develops a long term plan to improve the area. Upgrade the substation. Add a new substation transformer. Increase conductor sizes at key points. Install a new recloser scheme. Then add a new automated switching scheme. To get all that done could take five to ten years. I wouldn't be surprised if a system planner looks at an area like that and say, "Nope, no solar." Ultimately we have to take into consideration the system as a whole and all the customers in an area.

Ultimately there can be a lot of reasons why we don't allow solar in an area.

[foo1bar]

Anyway, It occurred to me about a month ago that if someone wanted to add solar in Delaware, now's the time to do it. I've had multiple, multiple, multiple people, both in the company, previous contractors I've worked with, and others, say that I should look at paying between $3 and $3.30 a watt to putt solar on my roof.

Probably you can do ~$2/W if you DIY.
Which may be a possibility for you- depends on how you feel about climbing on your roof and dealing with wiring.
(An engineer for a POCO, I'd say there's a good chance you're the type who could DIY successfully. Or at least have a good grasp on whether it's possible for you to DIY)

In the last 12 months I've used 5,500 kWhrs so using PV Watts I've calculated that I would need about a 4 to 4.5 kWhr array on my roof. Local rules will probably prevent me from putting up anything more than a 4.5 kW system..

Well, if 4.5kw meets your needs, then no use oversizing it... You should be able to find out without too much problem what's biggest you can do.
You can look into doing a bigger array and using more electric heat. You'd have to pencil out whether thatd be cost effective or not.

[solar pete]

On the PHI Side, there are a number of issue. The sheer growth of solar in the area has been crazy. It has doubled every year. Add in solar leasing that has recently come to the area. That has also boosted the sheer volume of applications. We're currently hiring additional staff, improving our processes, and working as hard as we can to process applications. Further, we have regulatory requirements that we're obligated to meet in the application process. All I can ask is to be patient while we make these improvements.

We're not the only ones struggling in the Mid-Atlantic. The state of Delaware has similar problems. They have received so many applications they're currently projecting a +30 month turnaround to process the solar grant. Thirty months! That's over two years.

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/energy/services/GreenEnergy/Pages/GEPDelmarva_F.aspx

So everyone became swamped with solar requests. Especially this year.

As for solar restricted areas. I can't really answer that specifically. Requests get sent to System Planning for review and they determine if the circuit can handle the additional solar or not. The issue is not necessarily that there is a ton of solar equipment on the circuit. It's could be that the circuit, while perfectly serviceable for current distribution needs, has issues that will prevent system planning from allowing solar growth.

To give a practical example, in one of my previous jobs, we had a circuit in a wooded area that had some reliability issues. We wanted to add automatic switching but we couldn't. The circuit couldn't handle the load if we had done the auto switching scheme under certain load conditions. So the company develops a long term plan to improve the area. Upgrade the substation. Add a new substation transformer. Increase conductor sizes at key points. Install a new recloser scheme. Then add a new automated switching scheme. To get all that done could take five to ten years. I wouldn't be surprised if a system planner looks at an area like that and say, "Nope, no solar." Ultimately we have to take into consideration the system as a whole and all the customers in an area.

Ultimately there can be a lot of reasons why we don't allow solar in an area.

Hello Admiral Ackbar and welcome to Solar Panel Talk.

I get that there are places that can make it tricky. Over here in Oz they are starting to offer off grid systems into more remote areas that are hard to service. I think there is a bit of an element of dragging feet as well.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Yeah, I don't plan on oversizing. I just want to maximize my grants/tax credit to keep the costs low.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Also, I know co-workers who have DIY solar but to be honest I'm not super handy so I wouldn't install myself.