Project Details:Top

Utility Name:	We Energies
Utility Type:	IOU
Funding Source(s):	Voluntary Customer Premium Payments
State:	Wisconsin | WI
Region:	Central
Utility Program(s):	Distributed Solar Systems,Solar Energy Credits (RECs, etc),Residential System Incentives (¢/kWh),Green Pricing Program
Technology:	PV

Project Description:Top

We Energies' Solar Buy-Back program provides incentives to customers to purchase and install PV systems sized 1.0 to 100kW, the output from which feeds into the Energy for Tomorrow program, a traditional green pricing program, which in turn, provides funding for the Solar Buy-Back program.

Through the program 100% of the electrical output of the PV system will be purchased for 10 years at $0.225/kWh, through what is essentially a feed-in tariff. The incentives are funded by revenue received through We Energies' Energy for Tomorrow program. PV systems are customer-owned but interconnected on the utility side of the meter and the electricity that is produced is added to the supply mix for We Energies' Energy for Tomorrow Green Pricing program.

Participants in the Solar Buy-Back program must also enroll in the green pricing program and purchase electricity at least equal to the amount produced by their PV system. Customers must sign both a program agreement and an interconnection agreement.

After the contractual 10 years are up, PV system owners will need to have their installer or an electrician rewire the interconnection for their system to be placed on the customer side of the meter. WE Energies owns all Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) produced by the systems for the length of the contract.

The goals of this program are:
• provide solar energy to WE Energies` green pricing supply mix
• gain interconnection experience for utility staff
• improve customer satisfaction
• acquire solar performance data for PV in Wisconsin
• perform studies on utility use of PV

Customers choose and hire their own contractor, who specifies and acquires all equipment. The customer maintains the equipment and hires the installer or other electricians for maintenance.

The program is capped at an aggregated total of 1 MW of capacity (originally 500 kW) for all PV systems. We Energies may decide to extend the program by raising the cap if it sees enough growth in its Energy for Tomorrow Green Pricing program so that new energy supply is needed and if the utility can continue to balance the green pricing generation portfolio of higher cost of PV energy with lower-cost wind and biomass energy.

Project Links:Top

General Project Description: http://www.we-energies.com/business_new/altenergy/custgen_wisc.htm

Customer Tools:
 

• Tariff sheet -  http://www.we-energies.com/business_new/altenergy/rateschedule_CGS-PV.pdf
• Customer Agreement - http://www.we-energies.com/business_new/altenergy/eft_partnerprog_agree.pdf
• Interconnection Agreement - http://psc.wi.gov/utilityinfo/electric/distributedGeneration/documents/PSC6029.pdf
  

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