Unleashing Renewable Potential
The concept of Energy Export is simply the export of excess energy generated from renewable energy plants to the local grid. In most energy export schemes, these are a function of the current rules & regulations present within the project’s hosting country or from the local grid operator. While there are certain restrictions on the amount of exported energy to prevent power surges that damage electrical components, most countries or grid operators have established an infrastructure that allows them to handle certain amounts of energy exports (SMA, 2022) (Solar Secure, 2022). Different export schemes include net metering and wheeling.
Energizing Insights: Net Metering and Wheeling
Net metering is defined as the metering and billing plan that allows system owners to be compensated for any generation exported to the grid. When systems generate excess energy during off-peak hours, this energy can be transferred to the grid, and depending on the policies and regulations within the government, the exported energy can be compensated. This compensation is reflected in the next billing cycle of the energy generation system owner. On the other hand, wheeling is defined as the transmission of electricity from the energy-generating asset to another asset on the grid. This allows users to utilize excess energy generated from the alternative energy project while maintaining the ability to offset their consumption from the grid (Myers, Fletcher & Gordon, 2015). The choice of which transmission plan to use is a function of project and regulatory constraints. Below are pictographic representations of both transmission agreements.
Figure 01
Representation of Net Metering and example of benefits
Figure 02
Representation of Wheeling and example of benefits
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