Utilities In A Time Of Solar

Rethinking the utility company as solar power heats up

William Brangham, December 6, 2017 (PBS News Hour)

…[The rapidly plummeting price of solar panels has led to a boom in rooftop installations and jobs…[and the] solar industry now employs almost three times as many people as the coal industry. This growth is also raising questions about how utility companies should respond…[One Vermont resident installed solar] panels five years ago. In the summer, with its ample sun, they generate more electricity than [the resident] can use, so the extra energy is sent to the local utility, Green Mountain Power…[and the credit is used] in the winter…[taking the bill from $200 or more per month to] nothing…[New batteries leased from Green Mountain Power for $30 a month will allow the resident to] operate independently from the grid…[and] sell electricity back to the utility during peak usage, even when the sun isn’t shining…[Green Mountain Power’s CEO sees this as part of] a consumer-led revolution to distributed resources and a completely different [utility business model and argues] even more populous cities and states need to change the way they think about energy delivery…” click here for more

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