Is Self-Generation Of Electric Power In Your Future?
by Lance Adkins
Predictions of extreme increases in winter heating costs for natural gas, propane, and heating oil coupled with the restructuring of the electric utility industry have cast many uncertainties in the minds of consumers. Certainly, two primary concerns are energy availability and cost. These changes have created renewed interest in consumers providing for their own electric energy requirements through self-generation.
Self-sufficiency is not a new idea, as it wasn't too many years ago when folks on the eastern plains of New Mexico burned anything available for heat and cooking, and read by coal oil lamp or candle light. Some used wind-chargers to generate small amounts of electricity to provide lighting. As rural electrification began electrifying farms and rural homes in the mid-1930s', modern electric appliances became the rule rather than the exception, and central station power replaced most self-generation devices.
Through successive years, some folks remained dedicated to self-sufficiency and the production of their own electric energy requirements. Their dedication was borne out of necessity in some cases, as their homes were isolated in remote areas where power-line construction was cost prohibitive. Others remain concerned about the environmental impacts of current power production technologies and seek ways to generate electricity through clean and renewable processes.
"Clean" generation can be defined as the production of electricity with little or no adverse impact on the environment, and "renewable" is defined as a generation resource that renews itself, with wind, solar, and hydroelectric as the most prevalent. A non-renewable generation resource is generally defined as electric generation fueled by coal, natural gas and oil. Today, over 70 percent of our nation's electric energy is produced from non-renewable energy resources, and over 99 percent of new central-station generation under construction will be fueled by a non-renewable energy resource, natural gas.
One significant proponent of renewable energy production is the US Department Of Energy (DOE) who recently announced its goal of having 5 percent of the nation's electricity produced by wind power by the year 2020. In addition, the Electric Utility Restructuring Act in New Mexico provides for collecting a systems benefit charge from consumers to support several programs including, up to 4 million dollars annually for development of renewable energy projects within the state.
To date, two types of clean, renewable self-generation sources have shown promise in eastern New Mexico and west Texas, solar and wind. Advancements in both technologies have reduced the initial cost and increased reliability. The down side remains the storage of energy for those times when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow.
Current energy storage technology relies on lead-acid batteries, which are expensive, require frequent inspection and maintenance, and are not practical for use in homes with substantial electric energy requirements. A relatively new concept, which has been embraced by state utility regulators, is allowing consumers to interconnect self-generation systems with the utility so that the utility supplies additional energy requirements to the customer as necessary and the self-generator pumps excess generation into the electric utility grid. This concept, called Net-Metering, basically allows the meter to register one way when the utility is supplying energy and reverses when the self-generator is producing excess energy.
Net-metering concerns utilities for two primary reasons; first, the interconnection must be capable of detecting a power failure on the utility side and sever the interconnection to prevent the self-generator from energizing a downed power line, endangering utility employees and others in the area. Second, by allowing the meter to freely turn forward and backward the utility basically pays the self-generator a retail rate for excess power produced by the self-generator.
By compensating the self-generator at a retail rate for excess power they produce, the utility does not recover any investment costs (poles, wires, transformers, operation & maintenance, etc.) associated with the electric distribution system the self-generator is using to support their system. In other words, all other consumers would be paying infrastructure costs that should be born by the self-generator. Interconnection standards must provide for safe operation and be equitable to all consumers using the electric distribution system.
For those interested in self-generation and renewable energy resources, the Internet offers hundreds of web sites dedicated to these subjects.
Lance Adkins is the General Manager of Farmers' Electric Cooperative in Clovis, New Mexico, providing electrical service to approximately 10,500 meters in New Mexico.
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