Nature trumps utilities (net metering)

[jpak]

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/20/Worldandnation/Nature_trumps_utiliti.shtml

HYDE PARK, N.Y. - When the sun shines brightly on their home in New York's Hudson Valley, John and Anna Bagnall live out a homeowner's fantasy.

Their electricity meter runs backward.

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Net metering essentially allows people to become mini-power producers. Programs vary state to state, but they are typically coupled with financial incentives that make it easier to invest thousands for photovoltaic panels, windmills or fuel cells. Since sun and wind are intermittent, customers still rely on the grid for steady service. The meter runs backward when more energy is produced than a customer consumes.

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Advocates see net metering as an environmental twofer: It promotes green energy and reduces the strain on the power grid. But the number of people investing in solar panels or wind turbines has been relatively small, despite the selling point of being able to turn the table on electric utilities.

Federal legislation requires states to consider adopting net metering standards by 2008, though programs are in place in more than 40 states, reports the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. California is tops when it comes to net metering with 86 percent of the 15,200 customers tallied nationwide in 2004 by the Network for New Energy Choices, a New York City renewable energy advocacy group.

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