mikee wrote:
My wife and I decided not to as our property is very shaded, but I thought the energy companies HAD to, by law, buy back unused power. It's just that they can pay you less for it than if you bought a kilowatt hour, and it would be a credit towards future energy purchases. Also, the panels will add some value to the house, which has nothing to do with dollars earned from the power company.
No, at least not in Delaware. They have no requirement to buy your excess, but typically would as it would likely be cheaper than the power they generate or buy elsewhere, and they pay you in credits that expire each year. They can also decline to let you tap into the grid if their existing equipment doesn't support your request. For instance, if the nearest transformer to my house was already at capacity with other nearby solar installations, I would have to pay for an upgrade/replacement of the transformer before being granted permission to tie into the grid.