Event Details
The next IREC Telephone Seminar will be Tuesday, January 22 at 2pm EST (1pm CST, noon MST, 11am PST, 10am Alaska, 9am Hawaii) on Utility Rate Design. The seminar will last for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Pre-registration is required (link to registration web page).
Retail rate design is important for the customer-economics of grid-connected, customer-sited PV. At this seminar, you will learn about recent research examining the impact of retail rate design on the economic value of grid-connected commercial PV systems in California as well as the intervention of The Vote Solar Initiative for solar friendly electric rates in three general rate cases.
The two speakers are Galen Barbose of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and JP Ross of Sungevity. More details on the presentations and background of the speakers follows.
Galen Barbose Presentation
The presentation will discuss results from a recent LBNL report examining the impact of retail rate design on the economic value of grid-connected commercial PV systems in California. Using 15-minute interval building load and PV production data from 24 actual commercial PV installations, we compare the value of the bill savings across 20 commercial-customer retail rates currently offered in the state. The most significant rate design issue for the value of commercial PV is found to be the percentage of total utility bills recovered through demand charges, though a variety of other factors are also found to be of importance. Though the analysis presented here is specific to California, our general results demonstrate the fundamental importance of retail rate design for the customer-economics of grid-connected, customer-sited PV.
Galen Barbose Background
Galen Barbose is a Principal Research Associate in the Electricity Markets and Policy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he conducts research and provides assistance to policymakers on issues related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and demand response. Recent work in the area of solar energy includes: an analysis of the impact of retail rate structures on the economics of customer-sited photovoltaic systems, a review and assessment of program design options for encouraging proper PV system performance, and an examination of program strategies for targeting the residential new construction market.
JP Ross Presentation
The presentation will summarize the intervention of The Vote Solar Initiative in three general rate cases between 2005 and 2007 in which the organization developed an expert team of witnesses to advocate for solar friendly commercial and residential rates. The process and strategy to achieving a positive settlement will be discussed as well as results from the rate cases and impacts to the solar market. Important drivers of solar friendly rates will also be covered.
JP Ross Background
JP Ross is Vice President of Strategic Relationships with Sungevity, a residential solar sales and marketing company. Mr. Ross is in charge of governmental affairs and policy. Mr. Ross served as the Program Director with the Vote Solar Initiative from 2004-2007, where he focused on creating markets for, and knocking down barriers to, distributed solar photovoltaics. Mr. Ross was active in the development of the California Solar Initiative, which resulted in the nations largest solar market as well as other solar markets across the country. Previously Mr. Ross was the Policy Analyst for the Greenpeace Clean Energy Now team. Mr. Ross holds Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley Energy and Resources Group.
