A new residential solar-plus-storage project, launched for a low-income utility customer in California, could help keep residential solar growing despite utility net metering caps.

California's municipal utilities are cutting net metering for rooftop solar projects as they approach their 5% capacity cap, meaning residential customers, particularly low-income families, can't add new solar. In the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) utility territory, a net metering cap "slams the brakes" on solar - nonprofit GRID Alternatives could only complete 18 of 50 low-income installations scheduled for 2016, and expected a similar outlook in 2017. 

This trend looms for bigger municipal utilities approaching the 5% net metering cap, threatening clean energy access for thousands.

Fortunately, GRID Alternatives and Enphase partnered to install a new solar-plus-storage project in IID's service territory that will cut a low-income customer's bill 45%, save her $810 annually, and produce more power than it consumes for roughly 10 of 12 months (see below). 

This innovative design could help GRID connect 50 low-income families with solar-plus-storage projects in IID this year, and if replicated could ensure families in other utility territories keep reaping solar's benefits, even under net metering caps.

GRID Alternatives | www.gridalternatives.org

Enphase Energy | www.enphase.com