Solar power in Alabama on rooftops could theoretically provide 29.8% of all electricity used in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, with 20,400 MW of solar panels potentially installed on rooftops. Alabama was ranked 50th among US states for solar power in 2020, and 35th in Q1 of 2021, with .027% of the state's power generated by solar.

Net metering

Offering

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

is required by federal law, but Alabama is one of only four states to not have adopted a statewide policy on net metering, which means it needs to be negotiated with the utility. IREC best practices, based on experience, recommends no limits to net metering, individual or aggregate, and perpetual roll over of kWh credits. Alabama Power has installed four types of solar panels in Birmingham that can be monitored on the Internet. The company will pay up to 4.81¢/kWh during the summer and 3.93¢/kWh in the winter for excess generation from up to 100 kW systems. Peak power rates are weekdays, 1 to 7 pm in summer and 5 to 9 am in winter. Customers choosing the Time Advantage Energy rate pay 7¢/kWh during winter peak periods and 25¢/kWh during summer peak periods. Off peak is charged 5¢/kWh. Using time advantage requires a time of use meter, and the base charge is increased by $10.50 each month.

Solar power projects

In 2010, one of Alabama's largest solar arrays was the 25 kW system installed at the Coastal Response Center, in Coden, Alabama. A $250,000 economic stimulus grant was used to install 156 solar panels on Anniston's Museum of Natural History, which was completed on August 24, 2011. The output of this 25.2 kW system can also be monitored online. River Bend Solar, completed in 2016, contributes 75 MW capacity to the

TVA The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

power grid, and reduces carbon emissions by 100,000 tons annually. LaFayette Solar Farm in LaFayette, completed in 2019, supplies 79.2 MW to

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. In 2021, Covington Electric Cooperative, which is constructing a 100 kW solar array, is the only rural electric cooperative in Alabama with a community solar program.

Solar panel manufacturing

In 2019,

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...

opened a solar panel manufacturing plant in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

Statistics

References

External links

Incentives and policiesAlabama PowerAlabama Solar Association
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