JEA, formerly known as the Jacksonville Electric Authority, as of April 1, 2018 removed net metering, and lowered the rate paid of for any excess electricity produced that would have prior been net metered. A group of solar advocates – Solar United Neighbors – has been pushing back since the fall of 2017 when this change was originally proposed.
On April 19, 2018 the group filed a lawsuit (PDF) stating that JEA’s removal of net metering violates state law requiring net metering. The lawsuit also notes that “energy sent to the grid by a rooftop solar customer is credited at the fuel rate (currently 3.25 cents/kWh) on an instantaneous basis”. The utility currently charges 10.3¢/kWh for electricity generation, and credits that amount to solar power accounts.
Documents provided by Solar United Neighbors show more of what the utility is thinking. The JEA Board Agenda, October 17 2017 (PDF) when the ruling was proposed, shows more than just pushback against net metering and bill credits.
The below image is from the above document – and it shows some evidence of solar growth on the larger scale.
The document references an energy storage program in development – $2,000 incentive for a residential installation – and the large scale solar program above, as part of the Universal Solar Expansion and Land Acquisition. Projects in this program see to be sized as much as 50 MW each – and the utility notes that the quotes they’re getting for pricing per kWh are approaching the utilities current fuel price of 3.25¢/kWh.
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