DOE OSTI2018
Virtual net metering (VNEM) is a policy and billing arrangement that allows energy generation credits from a single solar system to be shared virtually among multiple subscribers. In California, VNEM is limited to onsite installations, meaning that the subscribers to that system must be located on the same property as the installation. Subscriber accounts will belong to those living or working in an onsite multi-tenant building, such as tenants within an apartment complex. VNEM enables the expansion of photovoltaic (PV) adoption beyond traditional commercial and single-family roof top systems to those who live in multitenant housing, which is an essential pathway for ensuring equal solar access for all consumers. Since 2008, VNEM has been available in the territories of California’s three large investor-owned utilities (IOUs), including San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and since then, has evolved into several sub-tariffs, each of which is applicable to specific building types and customer sectors. For instance, from 2008 - 2012, VNEM was only available for the affordable housing sector. In 2012, VNEM was expanded to the general market and was available to any multi-tenant, multi-metered building. It should also be noted that in 2018, an affordable-housing VNEM tariff was expanded to customers within the Liberty Utility and PacifiCorp Utility territories. The use of VNEM for market-rate buildings, since 2012, has been limited, reasons for which our project sought to address.