A Model for the Assessment of Different Net-Metering Policies

TLDR

The photovoltaic market has expanded rapidly under generous feed‑in tariffs, but as these tariffs have been reduced or removed, net‑metering policies have emerged as a promising alternative, though no unified EU policy currently exists. This paper proposes a generalized methodology to assess the techno‑economic profitability of various net‑metering policies for prosumers. The methodology, applied to a Greek case study, uses averaged load and PV production data from 31 Thessaloniki consumers, the current NEM policy and four alternatives, and 2013 system marginal prices to evaluate profitability. Results demonstrate that the methodology can evaluate diverse NEM policies and inform policy adjustments to create mutually beneficial contracts for all stakeholders.

Abstract

The photovoltaic market has recently experienced an enormous expansion, mainly due to the generous Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) adopted by many countries. However, in the recent years FiTs have been considerably reduced or even disappeared as their role in the PV deployment has ended. One of the alternatives is the Net-Metering (NEM) policy, which has attracted the interest of stakeholders as it provides a basis for the efficient collaboration between generation and the consumption profiles of the consumer. Currently, there is a lack of a universal policy harmonizing the respective legislations of the E.U. member countries. This paper proposes a novel generalized methodology for the techno-economic assessment of different NEM policies in terms of profitability for the prosumer. The methodology is tested in a formulated case study based on the current NEM policy in Greece. The method proposed uses as inputs the averaged load profiles constructed from real measurements collected from 31 consumers in the Thessaloniki area and evaluated PV production. The current NEM policy and four alternatives are examined, using as additional input the average system marginal prices of the year 2013. The results show that the proposed methodology is capable of evaluating a wide variety of NEM policies and can lead to suggestions for policy adaptation in order to establish a win-win contract between all interested stakeholders.