Georgetown city ordinance encourages home solar installs

GEORGETOWN (AP) — A South Carolina city has approved a zoning change to make it easier for residents to install solar panels, and get credit for any power they contribute to the grid.
The Georgetown City Council voted this month to allow solar panels to be installed on any residential or nonresidential property, from single-family homes to shopping centers, The Post and Courier reported.
Alan Loveless, Georgetown's director of electric utilities, said customers who contribute excess solar energy to the grid will be paid back at wholesale prices.
"Part of the cost that goes into the rate that we normally charge our customer is associated with our cost to purchase power, but then another part of what we charge customers is associated with our cost of owning and operating the distribution system," Loveless said. "So when a customer generates power on their property and puts it back on our system, we didn't want to compensate them at the same rate that they pay us because then we would be paying them for the cost of owning and operating our distribution system, which is included in our normal rate, and that's not fair to our other ratepayers. We will credit them at a rate that is comparable to what we pay for wholesale power."
The panels should be integrated into the building style and be as unobtrusive as possible, said Angela Rambeau, director of planning and community development for the city.