Wednesday, May 29, 2013

How To Sell Electricity Back To The Grid

By Frances Keith


Selling power back to the grid can be a sure way to pull in some extra income. With your small power station, you won't have to pay any electricity bills. Below, top tips and hints on how to sell electricity to the grid are outlined.

The first thing you must consider is whether this investment is economically viable. If you intend to use wind turbines, the area you are installing the same must have enough wind energy. Setting up a power plant is an expensive affair; you want to be sure that you've made the right choices.

You may also want to consider using a broker. In most states, it can be difficult selling directly to your local utility. The problem compound if you are not selling that much power. To help solve this issue, you might want to use a broker as an intermediary. Basically, your broker will be responsible for selling the power back to the grid.

There are several government initiative meant to encourage such investments, you might want to take advantage of such arrangements. Most states want local power firms producing clean energy. In fact, there is legislation in certain states that will require the power utility firms to generate a certain percentage of power from renewable sources such as solar and wind. This is where private generators come in.

Setting up a small power station is work meant to be done by a professional. You will need to contact a skilled electrical engineer to assist you with installation. You also need to marshal funds for the project. Typically, you may require at least $50K to fund the project.

It's also advisable to have an idea of laws affecting this business. For instance, there is the "net metering laws". In most states, power utility firms are supposed to buy power at the same rate they sell to their customers.

Talking to your local power utility company cannot be overemphasized. You are entering into a business agreement with the utility firm and it pays to talk to them. As when doing any business, you must have a good relationship with to your customer. Assuming that the utility company will buy at a particular rate is never wise. Talking to them before putting money into this is prudent.

If there is any advice you would want to take here is doing lots of research. You need to do some reading on power generation, associated local laws that come with selling power and equipment required. Talking to people who have sold power to your local power producer is also wise. This will give you ideas on how to sell electricity to your local grid.




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