For a country like Pakistan which has roughly 250
sunny days in a year, the solar power industry has a lot of potential and solar
panels have the capacity of generating huge volumes of electricity.
Not only is the production of electricity through
solar panels enough for consumption, it also sometimes exceeds the requirement.
The excess electricity produced cannot just be disposed off! It must be stored
in batteries. But there is a limit to how much can be stored in batteries. What
to do then? Reduce the production of electricity through panels! This is the
most common answer. But, in a country where there is a huge power shortage, why
not use this excess electricity to solve this problem rather than curbing the
production.
This is how the concept of net metering came into
being. First originated in United States, net metering is the process of
selling the excess energy you produce through your solar power panels back to
the grid. So, the grid acts like a central power bank which buys energy from
you and distributes the excess energy wherever there’s a power shortage. So,
while you produce extra energy and facilitate the power shortages, you also
earn money for the electricity you sold. Sounds like a plan!
This has begun in various areas of Pakistan and one of
the earliest examples of this can be seen at the Unilever Solar Power Project
in Lahore which is being developed on the net-metering model by Reon Energy.
Net Metering is a very common phenomenon in United States and Germany. There
are full-fledged towns and cities based on the concept of net metering in these
countries. Thankfully, Pakistan is also moving towards adopting this trend,
slowly yet definitely.
The
article was originally published on: Reon Energy - Always been an electricity consumer?
See what it takes to be an electricity producer
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