What if you get a chance to earn an extra income besides your current job going on undisturbed and plus you don’t have to put effort and work day & night to earn that additional income. How cool it sounds!! Right? Then XCEL is the one-stop destination. Being founded in 1909 as Xcel Energy Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it grew up exponentially over the years as one of the largest power suppliers in the USA. It came with a proposal to incentivize the people who are willing to install solar PV on their rooftops and be the contributor to the step toward clean energy. Find out more about, the XCEL Energy Solar Rewards.
The concept is simple the electricity generated through the solar panels, in excess of one’s own household consumption, will be supplied back to the power grid suppliers and one will earn some points known as REC (renewable energy credits), which will be encashed later by the power companies in the form of monthly or annual incentives for the upcoming 10 years. Each REC signifies 1 MWh of electric energy. RECs are measured by the smart meters (previously Net Energy Metering), connected to the installed system, to measure the actual solar power consumption and generation by each household.
Eligibility criteria for availing of the benefits:
- One must be a present customer of XCEL.
- One must not be enrolled in any other similar type of incentive program.
- Must have a valid account and legally valid premises.
- One must own the property (residential or commercial) on which the solar PVs have to be installed.
- The installed system cannot generate more than 120% of the past energy consumption.
- The system should be between 0.5KW to 20KW.
- One must meet the minimum personal liability insurance policy requirements.
- The project should be installed within 365 days from the date of your application.
Steps to register:
- The person who is willing to reap the benefits from this program should contact the power supplier company, that has collaborated with Xcel, and deposit their application.
- The power co. will schedule a date for you, for the no-obligation site visit to check whether your property is perfect for the installation or not.
- Once installed, the power company will contact Xcel and pay you the annual incentives.
The purpose behind launching the solar rewards program?
- To give impetus to the investments in renewable power.
- To increase energy conservation.
- To decrease Minnesota’s contribution to global warming.
- To develop new ways for customers to personalize energy management
- To take a step towards fulfilling the pledge to go carbon-free:
- 80% carbon reduction by 2030, and
- 100% carbon reduction by 2050
- By taking this pledge, Xcel becomes the first major US public utility to set the target of being carbon-free in the near future.
- It also announced to shut all the coal-fired plants by 2030 and replace the electricity requirements by increasing solar production capacity by 1400%.
What role does it play in the USA economy?
- Xcel Energy operates the fourth largest transmission system in the United States, spanning 10 states.
- It is one of the NASDAQ-100 and S&P 500 components.
- The solar power electricity generated increased drastically with the help of these rewards, from 0.34 Gigawatt in 2008 to 97.2 Gigawatt in recent years.
- Solar photovoltaic panels on just 22000 square miles of total land area are enough to lighten up the entire U.S.
Are there any cons or controversies related?
- The installation cost of the solar panels is generally too high.
- It requires a lot of space and not everybody has big and spacious rooftops and gardens.
- By early 2011, Xcel had to suspend its solar rebate program before reaching a settlement with solar power companies.
Conclusion
To conclude, we will only say that there are 2 aspects of everything but, from the perspective of the whole nation, it is one of the best decisions taken to bring this program to the common public. It serves a two-way purpose, as it proved to be helpful to the country in reducing its carbon footprints and providing cleaner and safer fuel & power, it also inspires the consumers to prioritize their power consumption needs and avoid wastage of electricity. It helped a lot of people to earn their livelihoods.
Some of the Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs):-
Q1. How much do I earn through this scheme?
It changes from year to year depending on the total outlay in the government budget.
For 2022, you will earn: –
For residential solar owners: $ 0.04 per kWh of the electricity generated (reduced from $0.07 per kWh in the previous year),
For commercial solar owners: $0.03 per kWh of the electricity generated (reduced from $0.06 per kWh in the previous year).
Q2. How do I calculate the electricity produced through the solar panel or how do NEM smart meters work?
It is a bidirectional meter that pulls the electricity generated through the PV panels into the households and pushes the excess electricity back into the grid-connected to power supply companies. There is also an inverter attached to the meter which shows how much energy your home appliances will go to consume. It converts DC (direct current) into AC (alternate current), which is used in our houses.
Q3. Can we consume solar power electricity free of cost in our homes?
Yes, in the daytime you can use it for free by replanning your household chores according to your daily schedule. But, if you run a high voltage appliance like a washing machine or fridge in addition to all of the basic requirements in your household, you have to pay for that extra consumption, by purchasing electricity from the same supplier to which you have already sold.
Plus, the installation cost would be there, which you have to pay for in the very first year.
Q4. Can every applicant, who is fulfilling the eligibility criteria, can avail of the solar rewards?
No, the selection of the applications is on a first-come, first serve basis. As the budget outlay is limited, so you have to hurry for availing the benefits of this scheme. Just Go and Grab it, the opportunity is here.