As California, the largest solar market in the US, gets ready to slash its net metering rates for new customers from April 15, 2023, residential solar installer Sunrun has come out with a home subscription offering called Sunrun Shift that it claims 'maximizes the value of solar energy' under the state's new solar policy.
California is lowering net metering compensation from utilities for new customers under the California Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0 for solar energy fed into the grid which the solar industry claims will bring down export rates by 75% (see 'Dark Day' For California As Net Metering Changes Proposed).
Sunrun says its Shift subscription increases potential customer savings by capturing excess rooftop solar energy through the day and storing it for later use, particularly for hours when energy demand and prices are the highest.
This, it claims, ensures increased self-consumption during peak hours when the rates are highest and reducing low-value exports back to the grid through a new storage configuration.
Management explains, "Shift is specifically designed to maximize self-consumption, and it does not provide backup power capabilities. This innovative storage configuration provides value to the customer, while minimizing labor hours, equipment costs, and the potential need for a main panel upgrade, for a cheaper, easier and quicker installation than conventional home backup systems."
Sunrun's CRO Paul Dickson said the company started developing Shift as a solution soon after California finalized its net metering decision.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), till the end of Q4/2022 California had over 39.7 GW solar capacity installed and is likely to add another 26.57 GW over the next 5 years.
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