Can I go off grid? Or am I locked into current system?

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  • PUNISHERVETTE
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2020
    • 3
    #1

    Can I go off grid? Or am I locked into current system?

    I've had 10k system installed for 3.5 years. 40 acres farm.
    It's "net metered" meaning what we give them is given back at no cost when we need it later(month to month roll over).
    10kw was the limit for this program which is now no longer available.
    They also paid us sRECs which I haven't kept up on if they're still a thing.

    I'd like to add more solar, batteries, maybe a wind turbine with the goal of becoming energy independent.
    I haven't done my research yet if the maintenance cost of batteries and/or a turbine can pay off or if the co-ops monthly fee and costs to use their power is still the cheapest option long term.
    I'm also unsure what would happen as some of those contracts for sREC's were like 30 year long contracts I think.

    Basically their 10kw net meter contract is good but for my size farm I'd like more. I also don't like how every year rates go up and fees go up making me think going off grid might be the future.

    any advice? sorry it's so long winded. I'll try to get on this forum more and start researching away.
    Tags: None
    • organic farmer
      Solar Fanatic
      • Dec 2013
      • 646
      #2
      40-acres, hmm, is there any farming activity? Do you file a Schedule F?

      If so, then all of your solar power expenses are subject to a seven-year depreciation. Every dollar spent on solar power must be depreciated over seven years.

      I did not see where you are located. I am on the Esat Coast, so our local power grid normally goes down a few times every month, it is not reliable.

      When the grid goes down, a Net-metering system must also shut down, until whenever the utility company decides to bring the grid back up again. Being off-grid may be a benefit for you.


      4400w, Midnite Classic 150 charge-controller.

        Comment

        • SunEagle
          Super Moderator
          • Oct 2012
          • 15126
          #3
          It depends on what you are paying for power. Usually a battery system takes a lot of a persons time and has a very long payback. But if you have a high rate for power or have a large number of power outages then having a battery system can work for you. Just remember if you have a battery system you should also get some type of generator to keep the batteries happy if you don't get enough sunlight to bring them back up to full charge.

            Comment

            • Mike 134
              Solar Fanatic
              • Jan 2022
              • 393
              #4
              You'll have to do more homework involving your RECs. I'm in Illinois and was paid upfront for the estimated RECs I'd generate over the next 15 years based on PVWatts. If I over produce no issue but if I under produce, I owe money for each REC that I fall short.
              I have no idea what the rules would be for an off grid setup.

                Comment

                • peakbagger
                  Solar Fanatic
                  • Jun 2010
                  • 1565
                  #5
                  Its very dependent on local tariff rules, but if you split up your loads and have an offgrid system that is not connected to the new generation, I expect they can not do anything but you lose out on any advantages you got with net metering. My guess is you could set up an export limit on a multimode inverter that limits exports of power to the grid to 10KW max and send the rest to your batteries.

                    Comment

                    • PUNISHERVETTE
                      Junior Member
                      • Jul 2020
                      • 3
                      #6
                      Originally posted by organic farmer
                      40-acres, hmm, is there any farming activity? Do you file a Schedule F?

                      If so, then all of your solar power expenses are subject to a seven-year depreciation. Every dollar spent on solar power must be depreciated over seven years.

                      I did not see where you are located. I am on the Esat Coast, so our local power grid normally goes down a few times every month, it is not reliable.

                      When the grid goes down, a Net-metering system must also shut down, until whenever the utility company decides to bring the grid back up again. Being off-grid may be a benefit for you.

                      It's a real farm and a schedule F is used. Because our house is on the same meter as the farm we have to split all bills by a percentage of which uses what. There's also a 30kw propane generator but thankfully the grid has been pretty reliable the 5 years we've been here. The generator made the solar wiring a bit more complicated but they figured it out so it was safe for those working on the grid.

                      We just wanted to net meter since we felt we used more power at night but that limited us to the 10kw system when we could have used a 20-25kw system. Problem is our power needs are only climing. There's a two week period in the fall we use our grain bin fans that cause a massive spike in usage but hoping our generator can be used during that time.

                      I assume if we went off grid we'd have to repay the sRECs along with who knows what else. I wish wind turbines were subsidized like solar is. It's so windy here I have to figure out at least a small turbine to install. The Bergy 10kw turbine was 4x the cost of a 10kw solar system.

                        Comment

                        • PUNISHERVETTE
                          Junior Member
                          • Jul 2020
                          • 3
                          #7
                          Originally posted by SunEagle
                          It depends on what you are paying for power. Usually a battery system takes a lot of a persons time and has a very long payback. But if you have a high rate for power or have a large number of power outages then having a battery system can work for you. Just remember if you have a battery system you should also get some type of generator to keep the batteries happy if you don't get enough sunlight to bring them back up to full charge.
                          Thanks. Yeah we have a large 20kw? Maybe 30kw generator so hoping we're sitting pretty good. I assume our power is fairly cheap but it is Illinois so who knows with this crooked state. Likely .16/kwh? But there's $60 monthly fees and they're now going towards something called peak billing. Plus it's up about 50% in just the 5yrs we've been here. Not looking forward to 20yrs from now if that's a trend line lol.

                            Comment

                            • SunEagle
                              Super Moderator
                              • Oct 2012
                              • 15126
                              #8
                              Originally posted by PUNISHERVETTE

                              Thanks. Yeah we have a large 20kw? Maybe 30kw generator so hoping we're sitting pretty good. I assume our power is fairly cheap but it is Illinois so who knows with this crooked state. Likely .16/kwh? But there's $60 monthly fees and they're now going towards something called peak billing. Plus it's up about 50% in just the 5yrs we've been here. Not looking forward to 20yrs from now if that's a trend line lol.
                              I guess I have been blessed with low electric rates for years. It was maybe $0.09/kWh back in 2018 and now it is about $0.10/kWh. It was higher a while back when fuel costs were up but it has come back down again. I feel bad when I hear others continue to see their rates increase but ours have not. All this of course has made it hard for me to justify installing even just solar let alone batteries.

                                Comment

                                • azdave
                                  Moderator
                                  • Oct 2014
                                  • 765
                                  #9
                                  Originally posted by PUNISHERVETTE
                                  ...and they're now going towards something called peak billing.
                                  We've had that for businesses in Arizona for many years. They call it "demand" billing here. The POCO records the maximum demand reached during any 15-minute period in the month and use that as a way to apply a multiplier to your entire monthly bill. In the last few years, they have begun to integrate that into residential billing too, starting with new RE customers.

                                  Dave W. Gilbert AZ
                                  6.63kW grid-tie owner

                                    Comment

                                    • organic farmer
                                      Solar Fanatic
                                      • Dec 2013
                                      • 646
                                      #10
                                      Originally posted by PUNISHERVETTE

                                      It's a real farm and a schedule F is used. Because our house is on the same meter as the farm we have to split all bills by a percentage of which uses what. There's also a 30kw propane generator but thankfully the grid has been pretty reliable the 5 years we've been here. The generator made the solar wiring a bit more complicated but they figured it out so it was safe for those working on the grid.

                                      We just wanted to net meter since we felt we used more power at night but that limited us to the 10kw system when we could have used a 20-25kw system. Problem is our power needs are only climing. There's a two week period in the fall we use our grain bin fans that cause a massive spike in usage but hoping our generator can be used during that time.

                                      I assume if we went off grid we'd have to repay the sRECs along with who knows what else. I wish wind turbines were subsidized like solar is. It's so windy here I have to figure out at least a small turbine to install. The Bergy 10kw turbine was 4x the cost of a 10kw solar system.
                                      I suspect that you are limited to the terms of the REC contract that is in place.

                                      You need to find a copy of that and read it.

                                      In my area, a net-metering system is significantly more expensive to install, as compared to an off-grid system with batteries. The orignial homeowner who agreed to the REC terms wanted those terms and justified being held within that contract due to its terms.



                                      4400w, Midnite Classic 150 charge-controller.

                                        Comment

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