FCC issues a Notice of Violation to Solar City for RFI Inteferance

Wind is not all popular around here, fortunately my county was able to keep it out. When people in some of the other counties became wise to what the wind farm is actually installing they are now fighting it too.

 

We'll see if it holds up. My bet is that they will not. But you are very wrong in thinking there is no difference between commercial and consumer panels. I suggest you talk to an engineer at a company that manufacturers commercial panels and find out exactly what the difference is. I know you won't believe me.

And remember - UL Certification is only for safety reasons. It says nothing about the durability or capacity of the item being certified.

 

Yes, but the rebate plans are pretty low, considering the size and population of the state. I'll be interested to see of the 40 acre solar farm will pay for itself. I'll bet it won't; the sun is just too low in the sky for much of the year to generate a lot of electricity. That's why you see the major solar farms in Arizona and other southern states.

Wind is a completely different story.

 

It's not the mount that's the problem here. Generally a permit is required for ANY high voltage (120V is considered high voltage in the NEC) wiring, followed by an inspection.

 

It is increasing the total loading, but the loading is also spread out over a larger area. Depending on construction, it could increase or decrease the loading per square foot.
It's something solar companies deal with every day.

 

It's not just the snow belt. It's anywhere.
Builders don't have to bump the snow load requirements - building codes require higher loading in the snow belt. But they are not necessarily high enough to support the added weight of solar panels.
And there are a number of additional problems which need to be considered with roof mounts - like fires. They need to have a disconnect to keep from electrocuting firemen, and access to the roof by firemen.
Lots of things to consider when roof mounting - which is why the building codes must be followed.

 

Well, I don't know what to tell you. I have one of these on my house. I look at it every day. I receive the electric bills myself. I know it does go backwards and I do not pay for any electricity. I own my own system, not Solar City or some other third party. I'm not sure Solar City really even does business in VA, I think they just moved into northern Virginia in February. I'm on Dominion Virginia Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the state. My meter counts forward when I buy electricity and backward when my solar system sells it. Okay, it doesn't "spin", it's digital, but the digital numbers count forward when buying and backward when selling. If I buy 100 kWH and then sell 100 kWh my bill for electricity is in fact ZERO. It's called net metering and is the main billing method that utility companies in VA and other states use with solar producing customers. 1 kWh sent to the grid erases 1 kWh bought from the grid. If that's not "buying at the retail rate" I don't know what is. This is a special bi-directional meter that Dominion Power installed when I signed up for net metering. It's what happens with every solar system we install. Dominion comes out and swaps the regular meter for a bi-directional one.
All I pay on my electric bill are the base fee and taxes that the county takes. It's a total of $8.40. That's my total electric bill.

 

But are you sure it counts backwards at the same rate it counts forwards? My bet is it doesn't. Dominion Power only pays wholesale rates for the electricity they purchase from residences, but charge retail rates.
Of course, it's also possible since you don't have a commercially installed system, they just haven't caught up with you yet.
And Solar City has been in the Baltimore-Washington area (including Northern Virginia) for several years. They are not newbies here.

 

That is exactly what I was thinking while reading the post.

 

Not sure if anyone answered the question: If there was a notice of violation (NOV) issued to Solar City, can anyone point to the document, so we can read it?

It's not listed on the FCC's website where other NOV's are located.

http://transition.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/

Tnx de FM

 

Instead of a solid 10x10 foot sail I have individual 2x5 foot sails with space for wind to bleed around them. Yes overall wind load is similar but I do not have a solid wall at 45 degrees to the wind so the mount sees a little less stress that could bend things. Those panels have survived 90mph winds 4 times! Plus the gap helps remove snow by setting up eddies around the face in winter.

 

Never thought about that, mine is a real pain in the snow. Mine are roof mounted on the shack and to do it over again NOT!!!

 

Why I ground mounted... but even that is a bit of a pain getting to them through what is usually a 4' drift! Garage roof is going to get solar hot water to heat the garage in winter and add preheat to the hot water heater for the house in summer.

 

Yes, it's the same rate. I'm absolutely certain. I don't know what you mean by "haven't caught up yet". I filled out all the paperwork and Dominion installed my bi-directional meter. I'm not doing anything under the table. I install these for a living. I have personally spoken to the engineers at the power companies. I've read their contracts. I personally sign every net metering application for installations at our VA and MD branches since I hold the Master Electrician licenses there. We communicate openly with the power companies all the time about each and every new installation. It's the business we're in.
If I buy a kWh from the power company and then my solar system puts it back the meter is back to zero. If this wasn't the case my company would have hundreds of unhappy customers crawling all over us for misrepresenting how it works. Last year we installed almost $5,000,000 worth of net metered solar systems in 4 states.

 

Then you are lying to your customers.
See Dominion Power's official position at www.dom.com/library/domcom/pdfs/virginia-power/rates/terms-and-conditions/vatc26ra.
Dominion Power does not buy power from customers (unless a power purchase agreement is in place - see below). Rather, it credits the amount of power generated UP TO THE AMOUNT OF DOMINION POWER'S ELECTRICITY USED. If the user generates more than he uses, Dominion Power does NOT buy it back. This amount is reset to zero for each metering period.
If the user enters into a power purchase agreement with Dominion Power, Dominion Power will purchase the excess generation "at a price equal to the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM) DOMZONE day-ahead annual, simple average LMP (locational marginal price),...".
This is the wholesale price, NOT the retail price.
PEPCO isn't much different.
Anyone who holds a Master Electricians license and installs solar systems for a living should know these things.