Serious changes for private PV systems in California

In the US state of California, one of the world’s largest photovoltaic markets and by far the largest market for private PV systems in the USA, the regulatory authority responsible for public utilities, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), has made serious changes to the tariffs for small and medium-sized solar. Under »net energy metering« (NEM), these systems receive a credit on their consumption bill from the respective utility for solar power which is not consumed onsite but fed into the public grid. Any surpluses or shortfalls are offset in an annual statement.
The most important change to the existing »NEM 2.0« scheme is a cut of a good 70 percent in the corresponding tariffs for the electricity fed into the grid. Until now, there has been an average – the exact amounts depend, among other things, on electricity trading prices – of around 30 cents per kilowatt hour, i.e. a very high payment given the specific solar power yields in sunny California. Under the »NEM 3.0« scheme, which takes effect on April 15, 2023, it will be only about eight cents. Systems commissioned before the deadline can remain in the old NEM 2.0 scheme upon application.
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