Or Renewable Energy Credits (REC) in NM

One of my favorite parts of talking up solar is the financial freedom I now have from the electric utility company. I am actually getting paid for helping the company add solar. At 13¢ per kWh I am more than covering what’s left of the electricity the company provides. It works like this:I purchased and installed solar panels (PV) on my roof. (okay, I learned how to design and install, but left the actual installment to professionals…twice). All with the blessings and approval of the local utility company and permitting folks. I did this and signed a contract with my utility company to sell them credits…solar credits you might call them.

To monitor the amount of electricity my PV panels make I had to add a meter called a REC meter to my electric system, so now I have two. My utility company reads both meters. The left meter keeps track of my total usage from the company. The right meter records my PRODUCTION from my panels and helps determine my solar credit or REC each month.

Now, the bill to the left should be familiar to everyone who pays an electric bill. Show it to your kids some time and maybe they will turn off lights when they leave the room. The important number is on  the line “Electricity You Used.” Mine for the month was 144.000 kWh.

On the right shows the additional and very delightful, heart-warming part I see every month in addition to the above. My PV system made 734.000 kWh of electricity to power my life that month (May 2014) And if you do the math my electric charges were more than balanced by my REC and I received a check for $73.76! Solar credits are awesome…you should work on getting some today.