Solar Power Turning Energy Consumers Into Energy Producers

As solar power moved from thermal panels to photovoltaic systems and as installing solar panels became less expensive, more and more property-owners started generating solar power. Sometimes, these home owners can sustain some of their energy needs while supplementing their solar generation with energy from their local utility. But, increasingly, some have been able to generate enough power to sell some back to the utility.

"Huge political battles are now being fought all over the U.S. about what rate should be paid to people with solar panels for the electricity they produce, and engineers and economists are starting to look at completely different solutions – like redesigning the electric meter to better reflect the true economic value of electrons at a given moment," 99% Invisible writes. Naturally, the utilities would prefer to pay the people generating solar energy, with whom they're directly competing, as little as possible; and the people generating the energy, as well as the companies installing those panels for them, want to get the highest price they can.

For more background on the issue of net metering, the term that describes the issues at the heat of the controversy, see past Planetizen coverage.