Connecting To The Grid

IREC's Connecting to the Grid program provides services and resources to facilitate the development of interconnection procedures and net metering rules for renewable-energy systems and other forms of distributed generation (DG).  This page of the IREC web site serves as an information clearinghouse on interconnection and net-metering issues.

Daily updates from DSIRE

Want the latest net metering and interconnection updates?  Here are daily data feeds from DSIRE:

Community Renewables

In May, 2010, The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) released its Community Renewable Power Proposal, which incorporates “best practices” in facilitating co-investment in local renewable power facilities.  IREC believes community policies, if well designed, can provide the right policy approach for creating additional opportunities for customers to support local renewable power development.  Community systems can also harness economies of scale that can lower the overall cost of participation in a community system.     In November 2010, IREC released the first Model Program Rules for Community Renewables.  Authored by Joe Wiedman (Keyes & Fox), the Model Rules are designed to facilitate co-investment in local renewable power facilities.     Visit IREC's Community Renewables page for details about its work in this space, including the Model Program Rules for Community Renewables.

 

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The Intersection of Net Metering and Retail Choice: an overview of policy, practice & issues

In regulated states, net metering is a fairly straightforward process, involving a transaction between a utility and customer.  In complex competitive markets, however, retail choice providers and distribution utilities must communicate in order to provide net metering for their customers.  Furthermore, every state has a different set of laws and regulations that make it difficult for retail choice companies working in multiple states at once. As a result, restructured states have yet to see a significant number of retail choice customers with net metered systems, despite the fact that several of these states have some of the best net metering policies in the country. This report aims to provide clarification on how net metering works in these complex environments.

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Connecting to the Grid Guide 6th Edition (2009)

The sixth edition of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc.'s (IREC) Connecting to the Grid Guide provides a comprehensive introduction to a span of topics that relate to grid-tied renewable energy sources. The sixth edition has been revised to include information on IREC's recently updated model procedures, alternative billing arrangements for net metering, energy storage and several other emerging issues in the field. This guide is designed for state regulators and other policymakers, utilities, industry representatives and consumers interested in the development of state-level interconnection and net metering policies.

In 2009, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) released updates for its highly respected and influential rules and procedures for interconnecting and net metering distributed generation. IREC first developed its model net metering rules in 2003 and developed its model interconnection procedures in 2005.   Since that time, the solar photovoltaics market has nearly tripled and there has been significant market growth for renewable distributed generation as a whole. To facilitate that growth, many states have adopted net metering and interconnection policies and many others have revisited and expanded their existing policies to incorporate lessons learned from facilitating increased penetrations of distributed generation.  IREC's model rule updates capture these evolved best practices and compile them into a template regulators and utilities can use as a starting point when drafting local rules.

Model Interconnection Rules

Among the important advances incorporated within the new IREC 2009 model interconnection rules are:

• clarifying that third party ownership of facilities is permissible;
• raising the size eligibility for the simplest installations from 10kW-25kW;
• allowing on-line applications;
• addressing state jurisdictional facilities over 10MW; and
• updating provisions related to network interconnections.

 

Model Net Metering Rules

IREC's model net metering rules (2009) were highly influential in New Jersey and Colorado, which are widely considered to have the best net-metering policies in the United States. Following the lead of Colorado and other states , IREC’s updated rules no longer limit facility size, other than requiring that annual generation not exceed 120% of expected annual consumption.  Among the important advances in net metering rules incorporated within the model IREC rule:

• increase in the size of systems eligible for net metering;
• expansion of program capacity caps;
• meter aggregation; and
• accommodation of third-party ownership of net metered systems.

 

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