NorthWestern Energy wants to pay less for solar power (MT)

The Montana Standard ^ | 6.16 | TOM LUTEY

[This_far]

NorthWestern Energy is asking Montana to pull the plug on solar projects, at least until the utility can get better terms from the state on ones it legally can’t refuse.

The utility, which provides electricity to half of Montana, told Montana’s Public Service Commission on June 9 that the mandated price it must pay to small commercial solar projects of 3 megawatts or less is too high and hurting consumers. The projects, known as qualifying facilities, or QFs have been popping up like dandelions because Montana’s guaranteed rate is too generous, according to the utility.

[This_far]

This forum needs to hear from "Ken from Great Falls"

[2banana]

Solar power is a scam which, except for a few small exceptions, made absolutely no economic sense

[Paladin2]

That’s the fault of lame advances in battery technologies.

[This_far]

...someone is going to have to clean up the ‘talings’ from the solor industries failures.

“https://www.google.com/search?q=by+products+of+solar+industry&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8";

[wita]

Solar power is a scam which, except for a few small exceptions, made absolutely no economic sense

Agree completely! Buy it and enjoy what you bought but don’t ask me to pay for it.

Which is precisely why home systems want the rest of the electric grid to pay for their system, through exorbitant prices. The most benefit any small system should receive is the wholesale price, and in most cases it should be far less because of the limited time during sunshine that the power may be available, forget being available at peak need especially in winter.

[Carthego delenda est]

“The Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA, requires utilities to buy power from QFs, under price and contract terms set by state governments. Montana’s rate is $66 per megawatt hour, coincidently similar to the price NorthWestern gets for its own hydroelectric power.”

So, NorthWestern Power doesn’t mind getting that $66 per megawatt, but when others do, they don’t like it?

[This_far]

As I understand it, Northwestern, others, have to purchase the power on a long term basis at a different rate if the generation unit is a 3 Megawatt power system or LESS.

$66 per magawatt versus $30 per magawatt on the current/open market. (until 1920)

Northwestern may pass the additional cost to it’s customers.

A generating system that can put out 3.1 Megawatts falls under a different pricing structure.

[This_far]

Northwestern, as I understand this, does not have increased revenue.

(of course, we all know that any company has NO losses, only it’s customers do)

[WHBates]

Not nearly as big a scam as wind mills, just saying.

[WHBates]

Really? Is the man stopping the advances, maybe you could post your earth shattering Patent on improving the technology, just so we could see what’s being stopped?

[Osage Orange]

Pretty much agree........

[Paladin2]

Now that everything is "wireless" I find myself constantly charging batteries; day and night, night and day.

I think solar panels are an awesome technology but they need batteries to get me through the night. It's just a current fact that solar suffers from the lack of a Moore's Law equivalent for batteries.

[WHBates]

It’s pretty sad actually that the green wienies like to ignore the pollution (long lasting BTW) factor of battery production.