Question by J.T.: How much does the average power company pay a person for excess electricity generated via solar power?
I was just doing a few minor calculations out of pure curiosity tonight and I seem to have hit a wall. No where on the internet (that I’ve looked, at least) has said anything about how much power companies will pay your for your extra electricity you generate. Our company, Xcel energy, said that they “automatically send a check for every 25 dollar mark” but I have no idea at how or when that mark is achieved. I guess what I’m really asking is if anyone knows how much the average power company pays for excess electricity generated by a home.
Some other things people may wish to know:
http://www.xcelenergy.com/Minnesota/Residential/RenewableEnergy/Solar_Rewards/Pages/home.aspx
^ the link of our power company and the numbers I used for “average costs”
My estimated amount of energy generated is about 4184 kW a year
The total instillation cost of all solar panels would be about $ 44,531.25
and this equivilates to about 18.5 to 20 years of using regular electricity, or when the system pays for itself, disregarding the excess electricity generated.
Best answer:
Answer by lc001
You need to look at your own bill. You need to determine any charge that is based on a kWh rate. Your excess power will be credited per this combined rate. They will compare the current meter reading to their last reading. If the difference is a negative amount, you gave back more power than you used, so you will get a credit of that difference at the rate you are being charged. If you generate enough excess, you can cover your bill entirely and even get cash back.
The speed in which you accumulate this extra cash is dependent on the size of your solar plant. You might maximize the size a residential customer can build (in my area, it’s about 5MW), to get the maximum credit. It will cost more to build, but may shorten your break even timeframe. If you size it to your planned use only, 20 years is about right, as that is also the life expectancy of a soalr plant.
Don’t worry about the utility company – they make money by “selling” your excess to other customers who want solar generated power at a premium.
Good luck!
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