Solar Power generation in Alberta - Truly competitive now, or soon?

[Sentry]

Speaking of asking for a friend. How many of these do I need to be net zero? Anyone got a map of them around the city? Again, strictly hypothetical friend scenario

[ZenOps]

Texas is in for a hot week. Lets see if they can make it through.

[Darkane]

So I saw a residential home with ~90-100 panels quick count

That’s like a 36-40kW system. How are they getting away with this??

Not a farm, but to be fair it was out of the city limits. Not an acreage either.

[ExtraSlow]

Is there a maximum? Isn't more better?

[ZenOps]

You can absolutely mount perfectly vertical. That is the entire reason they make bifacial modules.

[Darkane]

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Is there a maximum? Isn't more better?

I read somewhere you can’t produce more than your high usage case. Or something to that effect, the installations aren’t meant to be power plants.

I’ll look up more info

[ExtraSlow]

Every big residential installation should have power wall or similar to time shift into the evening.

[pheoxs]

I’ve yet to actually figure out where the regulation limiting you to install roughly the same capacity as you consume comes from. Enmax has rules set out for micro generators up to 250kW. Part of me thinks it’s just a rule for the solar club pricing as part of a subsidy. Still feels like it’d just be better to go for a monster of a system in the long run

[ExtraSlow]

The hassle is fixed, bigger seems better if you have space.

[ZenOps]

One of the solar wholesalers seem to have taken down their retail sales webpage. Probably bracing for impact on Enmax prices next month.

Are solar panels an unfair advantage?

[phreezee]

It's the 120% rule and has to do with your panel/service.
https://www.greentechrenewables.com/...izing-120-rule

[mr2mike]

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Every big residential installation should have power wall or similar to time shift into the evening.

Yep and keep all the power to yourself.

[ZenOps]

The example of 200 amp panel is an issue right there. If you want to go "all in" and have enough sun coverage in well spaced out Alberta, 400 amp would be the minimum.

Then its just a matter of making sure you oversize the cabling to handle the load and minimize losses. For anything DC, something closer to stranded welders cables or something better than standard Romex if doing AC.

[ZenOps]

I wonder... Get a couple cheap acres of prarie that has access to electricity but not water or sewer. Put up a shed, load it up with a sleeping bag, declare it a residence - and then just plaster the whole thing with solar panels?

[visualk]

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This is very Interesting! How did you get the admin, trans, and distr credited? You’re the first I’ve heard of it.

I think that’s a one month thing as April-May didn’t get credited.

Your April-May generation wasn’t great.

There is more to this, I’m not seeing the 6-7 year pay back.

Can you circle back for next bill and confirm for us the admin, transmission, and distribution fees again? That doesn’t jive the way the grid and utilities charge people.

Looking at the ENMAX site here is what it states:

After installing solar, a bill will change primarily on four lines:

Energy Charge: This is the cost of the energy consumed from the grid. With solar, energy generated by solar modules is consumed first, so this line item should be lower than for a home without solar installed.
Micro-generation Credit: This line is added to a bill after solar is installed. It represents any energy generated by a home solar power system that is not consumed during the month. Excess solar energy from a home solar power system is “sold” to the grid at the same rate being paid for incoming electricity. The amount of money a home solar power system is credited depends on a variety of factors, including the number of solar modules installed, a home’s energy needs and the homeowner’s current electricity rate.

Distribution Charge: This charge has a fixed component which will not change with solar as it is charged per day, and a variable component, which is charged based on consumption from the grid. Because there is a reasonable expectation that grid consumption is lower with solar, this charge should also be lower compared to a home without a solar power system if a system performs as expected.

Transmission Charge: Much like the distribution charge, this charge may have a fixed and variable component. In most areas of Alberta, it is only variable based on consumption from the grid so will most likely be lower compared to a home without a solar power system if the system performs as expected.

The Balancing Pool Allocation is also positively impacted by lower usage but has an overall negligible impact on the bill as the amount is typically quite low.
The Rate Riders, Local Access Fee and Administration Charge are not impacted by micro-generation.

[Darkane]

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Looking at the ENMAX site here is what it states:

After installing solar, a bill will change primarily on four lines:

Energy Charge: This is the cost of the energy consumed from the grid. With solar, energy generated by solar modules is consumed first, so this line item should be lower than for a home without solar installed.
Micro-generation Credit: This line is added to a bill after solar is installed. It represents any energy generated by a home solar power system that is not consumed during the month. Excess solar energy from a home solar power system is “sold” to the grid at the same rate being paid for incoming electricity. The amount of money a home solar power system is credited depends on a variety of factors, including the number of solar modules installed, a home’s energy needs and the homeowner’s current electricity rate.

Distribution Charge: This charge has a fixed component which will not change with solar as it is charged per day, and a variable component, which is charged based on consumption from the grid. Because there is a reasonable expectation that grid consumption is lower with solar, this charge should also be lower compared to a home without a solar power system if a system performs as expected.

Transmission Charge: Much like the distribution charge, this charge may have a fixed and variable component. In most areas of Alberta, it is only variable based on consumption from the grid so will most likely be lower compared to a home without a solar power system if the system performs as expected.

The Balancing Pool Allocation is also positively impacted by lower usage but has an overall negligible impact on the bill as the amount is typically quite low.
The Rate Riders, Local Access Fee and Administration Charge are not impacted by micro-generation.

Awesome. I think the ROI is looking better than ever. Throw in an EV and it’s on