LAS VEGAS — When Las Vegas resident Gary Jensen chose to get rooftop solar earlier this year, his goal was to save money and help the environment.
Now six months later, his rooftop has solar panels installed, but the system isn't generating power yet. His loan payments are piling up, so he came to us for answers.
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"We have to get this completed," Jensen said.
Back in March, Jensen's contract began with local contractor Sol-Up.
"The first part of the contract, the site review, their engineering, the people that came out and actually installed all of the equipment went pretty smoothly," Jensen said.
Then, the NV Energy application process to get the solar system on the grid and operating hit a snag.
"After a week or more, I received an email saying that the paperwork was either inadequate or had to be corrected," Jensen said.
This prevented his system from getting turned on, but the bills for the solar loan did start.
"That's $374 [a month]," Jensen said.
Sol-Up's owner, Steve Hamile, said the company was caught in the cross-hairs of an NV Energy "policy change" that was not communicated publicly.
Channel 13 is still working on determining what exactly has shifted, if anything, in the solar approval process.
"What occurred here with Mr. Jensen was he had a system that was sized in excess of 100% based on his representation of future higher demand. This was allowed historically since 2015 by NV Energy," Hamile said.
A spokesperson with NV Energy said that while they can't comment on Jensen's situation, by law a solar system cannot offset more than 100% of an individual's consumption — which his does, by about 5%.
"I cannot talk about an individual customer's case. We are in touch with Mr. Jensen and will continue to provide him updates directly," NV Energy spokesperson Meghin Delaney wrote in an email, "I cannot speak to the private solar company that installed the panels - but it's my understanding Mr. Jensen was having issues getting in touch with him."
The sizing limit is defined by Nevada Revised Statute 704.771, and NV Energy evaluates each application individually, approving or denying applications in line with state statute and policy. NV Energy looks at the highest 12-month energy usage out of a 24-month period to determine how a system should be sized.
"Future loads cannot be used to justify system sizing without verifiable documentation," said Delaney.
However, according to this NV Energy FAQ, working with a licensed engineer on a solar setup could justify a bigger system.
Can I design my renewable generation system to offset more than 100 percent of my consumption? No, by law, net metering systems cannot be designed to produce more than 100 percent of the customer’s annual requirements for energy. NV Energy looks at your highest 12-month energy usage out of a 24-month period to determine how your system should be sized. If in your application you are adding things like EV chargers, then this additional load can be calculated by a licensed engineer to make sure your system is being designed to adhere to Nevada law.
Sol-Up says multiple electrical engineering letters were sent to NV Energy this year, justifying the excess 5% for Jensen's home, and Sol-Up says all of them were denied.
Hamile said that in his experience in the industry, application denial of any solar system over 100% of usage hasn't been strictly enforced until recently.
"The process of installing solar takes about 30 to 45 days or longer. You submit your application, your permit, your interconnection, and then your installation. So, in between the time that we submit the application and permit for Mr. Jensen, and the time in which we installed for Mr. Jensen, they changed their policy without notice," he said.
What happens next
As of this week, a Sol-Up representative says Jensen's application will move forward based on conversations the company has had with the NV Energy engineering team.
And owner Hamile says he still has questions.
"What concerns me most is that there are arbitrary and retroactive decisions made by the utility for processes that they were approving in the past, and they just decide without notice, changing that policy," Hamile said.
As for Jensen, he's still waiting for his solar system to be turned on.
"Each one of these stress factors takes its toll on me," Jensen said.
This is a developing story.
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