Renewable Energy
Empowering Local Energy: The Sell Excess Program
At French Broad EMC, we believe in supporting our members who take an active role in our energy future. Our Sell Excess program is specifically designed for residential members with grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Through this initiative, any excess electricity your solar panels generate that you don’t use at home is fed back into our local grid. This not only helps maximize the return on your renewable energy investment but also provides clean, locally produced power to your neighbors and the community we all share.
Participation in Sell Excess is simple and transparent. We install a specialized meter at your home that tracks both the energy you pull from the grid and the surplus energy you send back to us. For every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of excess energy exported, you receive a bill credit based on our current avoided-cost rates. It’s a win-win partnership: you reduce your monthly energy costs while helping French Broad EMC maintain a more sustainable and resilient power supply for the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Ready to connect your sun-powered system to the grid? Whether you are in the planning stages of a solar installation or have a system ready for inspection, our team is here to guide you through the interconnection process and safety requirements. Together, we can harness the power of the sun to keep our cooperative strong and our environment vibrant for generations to come.
There are several factors that play into the generation of a solar array and the overall return on your investment.
- Cost of the system
- Tax incentives
- Renewable energy credits
- Kilowatt hour cost
- Size and location of the system
Example: A3 Kw system costing $9,000 would currently be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit. Assuming you generate 350 kilowatts on average each month, you could reduce your electric bill about $460 annually. Your investment after tax credits for the above scenario would be $6300.00 and you could get $460.00 value annually for a payback of 13.7 years.
Currently, there are nearly 100 FBEMC member owned renewable energy generation sites generating 725,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This is equivalent to the amount of power used by 80 homes. The Capitola Hydro plant in Marshall and the Buncombe County Landfill are not included in these numbers.
Jumping into the world of solar options? Let us be a resource for you.
- Contact French Broad EMC for a consultation. Our energy services experts can provide you with monthly, daily, and hourly usage data to help you understand your electrical usage requirements. We can also help you compare solar payback vs investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures. You’ll need to complete the distributed generation application and interconnection agreements which contains detailed information on the requirements to safely operate a solar panel that is connected to French Broad EMC’s distribution system. We also encourage you to read this informative article from Carolina Country that discusses how a member in North Carolina worked with his EMC to get solar installed on his home.
- Second, we highly advise in dealing with a local, reputable dealer in our area. There are several local companies that have been providing solar systems in our area for a long time, they stand by their products, and work with FBEMC so that everyone benefits.
Yes. Any residential or small commercial member can install a solar system and interconnect to our electric grid. Solar panels are connected directly back to French Broad EMC’s power lines through a meter and transformer. Each kilowatt generated is recorded on the meter and the total is calculated each month. The member is sent a billing statement showing the generation amount along with a check.
