OREMC’s Cooperative Solar Program
If you are interested in the benefits of solar but are concerned about the costs, have a shaded roof/yard, have restrictive homeowner covenants or you are a renter, OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program puts “going solar” within your reach.
How Cooperative Solar Works
OREMC has two 100 kW solar fields (Kingsland and Hilliard offices) and a 1.86 MW solar site on Highway 82 in Glynn County, Georgia. With Cooperative Solar you get to choose the right amount of solar energy you want to subscribe to from OREMC. Blocks of solar energy are billed monthly and produce approximately 120-200 kWh per month. The electricity delivered to your home through the power grid is calculated, and the solar energy generated from your share of the total capacity will be credited back to you.
Cooperative Solar Dashboard
Our Cooperative Solar Dashboard allows you to view production values and equipment details of each Cooperative Solar Project site including total daily outputs by site.
Pricing and Energy Production
Blocks of Cooperative Solar are available for $20 per month. Each block is equivalent to the energy produced by a 1 kW portion of the solar farm and estimated to produce between 120 and 200 kWh per month. Keep in mind monthly output of energy will vary due to the position of the sun, time of year and number of cloudy days.
Billing
You will be billed $20 monthly for each block of solar energy. The kilowatt-hours produced by the block will be deducted from the total kilowatt-hours you use each month. If the solar block produces more kilowatt-hours than you use during a billing cycle, you will receive wholesale credit for any unused energy. Consumer-members will be notified of any price changes at least 30 days in advance.
Cooperative Solar FAQs
All consumer-members benefit from the renewable energy produced by the solar farm as it is part OREMC’s diversified energy portfolio. Consumer-members who subscribe to the Cooperative Solar program receive the direct benefit of offsetting their overall usage with renewable energy and reducing their carbon footprint.
No special equipment is required to participate in OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program. It is a subscription-based program and all charges/credits are made through our billing system.
The subscription rate for Cooperative Solar is $20 a month per block of energy. Sign-up is free.
OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program has just over 2,000 blocks of energy available for subscription.
No. Each block refers to the energy produced by 1 kW of solar power. A block should not be associated with the solar equipment or its location, but rather the energy produced by the solar farm.
Yes. Each block will be credited the same percentage of total energy produced during the billing period. The energy credit for each month will be determined by adding up the production of all solar projects during a particular time period and dividing by the number of blocks available.
Customer Service will enroll you in the Cooperative Solar program once your completed application is received. Depending on your billing cycle, charges/credits will appear on your next month’s bill. There will be a “Cooperative Solar Program” line item as well as the amount of “solar energy produced” indicated.
You can monitor your overall usage by logging into your account on the Member Portal or by signing for usage alerts. You cannot specifically monitor your solar usage, but you do have access to the Cooperative Solar Dashboard that shows daily production.
Participating consumer-members receive a renewable energy credit on their bill as a separate negative kWh value. This negative value will represent the energy produced by 1 kW of solar output for each subscribed block during the billing period.
No. Solar panels require sunlight; therefore they will not produce energy at night.
Once signed up, you will have to remain in the program for at least one billing cycle due to administrative processes. If you choose to unsubscribe, a 12-month waiting period will be required before you can subscribe again – provided solar blocks are available.
Consumer-members enrolled in PrePay and those who have an interconnection agreement with OREMC for their residential rooftop solar, are not eligible to participate in the Cooperative Solar program.
Solar provides an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional energy resources as it is completely renewable. It is sustainable and generates green power that does not emit any pollutants into the atmosphere. Consumer-members who have installed rooftop solar and have an interconnection agreement with OREMC will still receive a bill as solar only produces energy during daylight hours.
The cost of energy produced by any solar system differs based on time of year, position of the sun and number of cloudy days. Residential roof top systems require the consumer-member to make a significant investment in solar panels, installation and maintenance costs. Cooperative Solar has no additional costs to the subscribed consumer-members beyond their $20 per block monthly subscription fee.
Consumer-members with residential rooftop solar systems must consider the financial pros and cons of installation and return on investment should they plan to sell their home in the future. Residential solar members sign an interconnection agreement with OREMC which allows them to connect to the distribution system. This agreement is terminated if the member sells the home. The new homeowner would be required to sign their own interconnection agreement with OREMC in order to use the existing rooftop solar system.
Cooperative Solar Program Terms and Conditions
The Member hereby requests to participate in Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corporation's (OREMC) Cooperative Solar Program. By signing this agreement, member has agreed to the terms and conditions set form by Cooperative Solar Program as provided below:
Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the Cooperative Solar Program, a members' account shall not be enrolled in the following billing services:
1. PrePay
2. Time of use
3. Have a Residential Interconnection Agreement in place on the account for which this application is intended
The Member understands that participation in the Cooperative Solar Program may limit available billing services to the participating accounts.
Participation Terms
After entering into the Cooperative Solar Program, member agrees to participate for a minimum of one (1) month before becoming eligible for opt out. The Member understands and agrees that by choosing to exit the program the account will incur a twelve (12) month waiting period before becoming eligible for re-enrollment to the Cooperative Solar Program. Any account in which the Member chooses to opt out of the program also relinquishes all prior rights to the initial block(s) allocated to it. Those blocks(s) will be made available to other members based on the number of requests.
Pricing and Energy Production
The monthly cost for (1) block of solar energy is $20.00 as outlined in the Cooperative Solar Rider CSOL-001. Each block represents the energy output of approximately 1kW from the Cooperative Solar Projects. The cumulative energy output from the solar projects will fluctuate due to variations in the angle of the sun, different seasonal effects, weather conditions and other operational factors. The kilowatt-hours produced by a members' assigned block(s) in each billing period will be applied to the assigned account's kilowatt-hours used during the current billing period. The account's billing statement will have a separate line item indicating energy produced by the block(s) for the period of time specified. In the rare event a members' block(s) produces more kilowatt-hours than was consumed during the current billing period, member will receive a credit for excess energy not used per Okefenoke's Cooperative Solar Rider CSOL-001. Participating Members will be informed of any changes to the Cooperative Solar Rider at least 30 days in advance.
Cooperative Solar Rider
Member has received and read a copy of Okefenoke's Cooperative Solar Rider CSOL-001 and Distributed Generation Rider. Member understands that any excess energy produced by the solar block(s) of energy will be purchased by OREMC under the conditions specified in CSOL-001 and NMTR-001.
Availability
Blocks are offered on a first come first serve basis. In the event no blocks are available, members may be placed on a waiting list.
Block Selection
Please indicate the number of blocks you wish to subscribe to along with the account number the blocks will be allocated to. The energy cost will be billed per Okefenoke's Cooperative Solar Rider CSOL-001. Please contact Customer Service at 800.262.5131 if interested in subscribing to more than three blocks
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