Many questions about best way to proceed with 7kw hybrid system

[Freesun1]

Hi, I find myself in a strange position in Alabama. I have purchased 30 solar panels, batteries and an Outback Radian 8048 inverter. In the process of getting permission with Alabama Power to connect to their grid I discovered they have attached new fees for solar users which would require me to pay a monthly Capacity Reservation Charge of $5/kW which would be about 1/2 the savings I would get from the system. This is in addition to the $14.96 service fee and an additional $1.55 connection fee. They charge .11 per kWh but pay 2.9-3.4 cents per kWh sold back to them. So I'm thinking about getting off the grid entirely. I have several questions.
1. Is there a way to run my system off grid some and on grid some, without connecting to the grid. They put in smart meters in 2012 so they remotely monitor my power.

2. Will they be showing up if I draw no current for the sunny part of the day? Does my current agreement require me to stay on the grid?
3. If I agree to pay all the fees and tie into the grid, is that agreement binding or can I get off the grid if I see that off-grid will work with what we have? $35/month would go a long way toward buying more batteries. I have 24-6 volt Trojans now.

[inetdog]

Hi, I find myself in a strange position in Alabama. I have purchased 30 solar panels, batteries and an Outback Radian 8048 inverter. In the process of getting permission with Alabama Power to connect to their grid I discovered they have attached new fees for solar users which would require me to pay a monthly Capacity Reservation Charge of $5/kW which would be about 1/2 the savings I would get from the system. This is in addition to the $14.96 service fee and an additional $1.55 connection fee. They charge .11 per kWh but pay 2.9-3.4 cents per kWh sold back to them. So I'm thinking about getting off the grid entirely. I have several questions.
1. Is there a way to run my system off grid some and on grid some, without connecting to the grid. They put in smart meters in 2012 so they remotely monitor my power.

2. Will they be showing up if I draw no current for the sunny part of the day? Does my current agreement require me to stay on the grid?
3. If I agree to pay all the fees and tie into the grid, is that agreement binding or can I get off the grid if I see that off-grid will work with what we have? $35/month would go a long way toward buying more batteries. I have 24-6 volt Trojans now.

3. There is no chance under the sun that you will save any money by going completely off grid. The cost of periodic battery replacement, as well as the initial cost of the batteries for such as system will drive your "free" power cost abobe $1 per kWh.

2. Probably not. They are not likely to read your smart meter on an hourly basis, and even if they do, they cannot tell whether you are just shutting off all of your loads. Your current agreement probably does not require you to get power only from POCO but also does not allow interconnection. When you go go to an interconnected situation, they can do whatever the Public Utilities Commission and state or federal law allow them to do. Even in states with net metering laws, power cooperatives are generally exempt, particularly those established under federal (REA) programs.

1. Yes and no. You can easily set up a split system in which some of your loads are powered only from POCO and some only from PV.
Or you can go the more expensive and complicated route of purchasing a hybrid system of the kind available from SMA or Xantrex. They can be configured to not sell back energy to POCO. But if you do that you still are probably obligated to arrange an interconnect agreement with POCO or at the very least get a permit and electrical inspection.
And even if all of that works out, take another look at my answer to #3. It does not make economic sense.

[Freesun1]

Thanks

3. There is no chance under the sun that you will save any money by going completely off grid. The cost of periodic battery replacement, as well as the initial cost of the batteries for such as system will drive your "free" power cost abobe $1 per kWh.

2. Probably not. They are not likely to read your smart meter on an hourly basis, and even if they do, they cannot tell whether you are just shutting off all of your loads. Your current agreement probably does not require you to get power only from POCO but also does not allow interconnection. When you go go to an interconnected situation, they can do whatever the Public Utilities Commission and state or federal law allow them to do. Even in states with net metering laws, power cooperatives are generally exempt, particularly those established under federal (REA) programs.

1. Yes and no. You can easily set up a split system in which some of your loads are powered only from POCO and some only from PV.
Or you can go the more expensive and complicated route of purchasing a hybrid system of the kind available from SMA or Xantrex. They can be configured to not sell back energy to POCO. But if you do that you still are probably obligated to arrange an interconnect agreement with POCO or at the very least get a permit and electrical inspection.
And even if all of that works out, take another look at my answer to #3. It does not make economic sense.

I appreciate your input. I have already gone to the extra expense of purchasing a hybrid system with batteries. I have an Outback Radian GS8048 and 24 220 ah trojan 6 volt batteries. My biggest question is whether I should go ahead and install the system without connecting to the grid, or sign up for interconnection along with all their fees. Are you saying I should bite the bullet and pay the fees and use my batteries as backup only. The Radian will operate in 9 different modes. I'm thinking of running it in the UPS mode so when I flip off the grid main breaker the inverter will kick in.

[inetdog]

I appreciate your input. I have already gone to the extra expense of purchasing a hybrid system with batteries. I have an Outback Radian GS8048 and 24 220 ah trojan 6 volt batteries. My biggest question is whether I should go ahead and install the system without connecting to the grid, or sign up for interconnection along with all their fees. Are you saying I should bite the bullet and pay the fees and use my batteries as backup only. The Radian will operate in 9 different modes. I'm thinking of running it in the UPS mode so when I flip off the grid main breaker the inverter will kick in.

From a purely economic point of view, my first choice would be to use UPS mode or to use full interactive and pay the fees but save some money even if not what you would have saved earlier using net metering.

But from an economic point of view you already have a sunk cost of the system and so it is harder to make that decision.
If your batteries would last just almost as long being used for "off-grid" operation as for standby operation, then you might actually do better using them.