Utility ownership of the inverter and battery makes customer-owned solar cost-effective for both the customer and the electric utilities in a way that benefits both parties. Utility ownership of the inverter and battery makes customer-owned solar cost-effective for both the customer and the electric utilities in a way that benefits both parties.

• PROBLEM – Under traditional net metering, electric utilities lose money on every solar installation. Net metering also makes it difficult for customers to power their entire home during an outage.

• SOLUTION – Customers install the solar modules down to a DC plug, then the utility handles the rest.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Customers only install the solar array and are paid for 100% of their generation.
2. Utility installs the battery for free and in exchange, gets the power when they need it
3. Customers get emergency power when they need it.
4. Connection is on the utility side of the meter so no wiring changes are necessary.
5. Dramatically lowers installation costs. No permitting fees, interconnection hassles; it’s plug-and-play all the way!

WHY THIS SOLUTION WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.

As you will see, simply moving the solar power generation to the utility’s side of the meter can lower the cost of solar power systems for everyone, meet all of the customer’s needs, while also providing a positive economic business model for electric utilities. With the ChargeStar Utility Owned Battery and Inverter, utilities will now be motivated to encourage widespread adoption of customer-owned solar generation on a massive scale across the United States.

The only way to provide back-up power to the home without installing a critical load sub-panel is to go through the customer’s existing utility meter. In the U.S., electric utilities or their contractors are the only ones that are authorized to perform work on the utility’s side of the meter. This is one of the reasons why it makes sense for the electric utilities to own and operate the inverter.

Other reasons for utility ownership of the battery and inverter include:

• Uniform control and communication standards are easier to achieve when there is a single owner (the utility).
• Utilities can set their own interconnection and safety standards without forcing the customers to sign lengthy interconnection agreements.
• Electric utilities are typically responsible for inspecting their own power generation equipment, so permitting and inspection costs are reduced because only the DC portion of the solar array down to the DC plug needs to be get inspected by the local code officials.
• Due to the plug-and-play design of the utility-owned battery and inverter, permitting costs will eventually be eliminated once the entire solar module and DC plug system receive a UL or similar rating, and can be plugged together like holiday lights.
• Utilities can bulk purchase equipment to achieve economies of scale to drive down costs.
• Utilities are also in it for the long term and generally have purchasing practices to buy quality products that provide the lowest life-cycle cost, not simply the lowest first cost.
• Investor-owned electric utilities have an added incentive for purchasing and owning the inverter and battery because they are entitled to a rate of return for all approved generating asset capital investments.
• Public utilities will want to adopt this system because it provides the highest form of public power. Because the solar generated power is not used for self-consumption, it is the truest form of public power; power generated by the public for the public. It also does this in a way that provides a positive net revenue for the electric utility.

Solar PV inverters that have electric vehicle chargers built into them are not new, but this EV connection is different. It not only provides managed charging for the electric car, it can also use the electric vehicle’s battery to power the customer’s home during a power outage, and be recharged directly from the customer’s solar array.

1. As with the other ChargeStar Utility Owned Battery, customers install the solar PV and DC plug portion of the system.
2. The electric utility then installs the DC-to-AC inverter and transfer switch on the utility’s side of the meter and installs a DC plug on the inside of the garage for the customer’s electric vehicle.
3. The plug can directly charge the car with high voltage DC from the output of the solar array on the roof.
4. The electric car’s battery can also be used to provide emergency power to the home, or at the customer’s option, provide power back to the electric utility.

The initial ChargeStar EV system will utilize the CHAdeMO DC fast-chargers to connect to the electric vehicles. This is because CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicles have this open protocol and have two-way charging/discharging capabilities built into them (Nissan Leafs, Honda, Mitsubishi and others) https://www.chademo.com/technology/v2x/.

• PROBLEM – Under traditional net metering, electric utilities lose money on every solar installation. Net metering also makes it difficult for customers to power their entire home during an outage.

• SOLUTION – Customers install the solar modules down to a DC plug, then the utility handles the rest.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Customers only install the solar array and are paid for 100% of their generation.
2. Utility installs the battery for free and in exchange, gets the power when they need it
3. Customers get emergency power when they need it.
4. Connection is on the utility side of the meter.
5. Dramatically lowers installation costs. No permitting fees, interconnection hassles; it’s plug-and-play all the way!