So, you are considering solar power options. First, you’ll need to choose whether you want to subscribe to OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program or invest in your own rooftop or ground mounted solar array. OREMC recently updated its policies related to both programs.  These changes went into effect on November 1, 2020.

Cooperative Solar Program

If you are interested in the benefits of solar but aren’t sure you want to invest in your own system, have restrictive homeowner covenants or are a renter, OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program provides an excellent alternative. OREMC has two 100 kW solar fields—Kingsland and Hilliard—and a 1.86 MW solar site on HWY 82 in Glynn County, Georgia. With the Cooperative Solar program, you can subscribe to blocks of energy based on the amount of solar energy that is right for you.

• Blocks of energy are billed monthly at $20 each and produce approximately 120-200 kWh each per month.
• The electricity delivered to your home through the OREMC distribution system is calculated, then offset by the solar energy generated from your share of the total capacity each month.  
• The monthly output from each share will vary due to the position of the sun, time of year and weather conditions.

With Cooperative Solar you get all the benefits of harnessing the power of the sun without installation and maintenance costs of owning your own system. Click here to learn more about OREMC’s Cooperative Solar program  

Rooftop Solar

Should you decide to invest in your own personal rooftop (or ground mount) solar array, you will need to initiate a Distributed Generation (DG) Facility Interconnection Agreement with OREMC. This agreement provides the groundwork for your rooftop system to be interconnected with OREMC’s distribution system so that at night or on cloudy days when no power is being produced, your power will be provided by the grid. Key components of the updated DG policies effective November 1, 2020 are:

• The residential system installation size limit has been increased to 100 kW/AC.
• All excess energy produced by the member-generator will be credited at the rate equal to OREMC’s avoided energy cost. This rate is updated annually and represents OREMC’s actual wholesale cost of energy.
• The current application fee for a Distributed Generation Facility Interconnection Agreement is $200.

Existing member-generators with signed agreements before November 1, 2020, remain under the terms and conditions of the previous policies until such time as changes or upgrades to their current system are needed. At that time a new Interconnection Agreement would need to initiated and be based on the updated terms.

Click here for complete information on initiating your Interconnection Agreement and download the Distributed Generation Member Information Package which includes:

• Step-by-step instructions for initiating and completing your agreement
• The related policies
• The Interconnection Agreement
• Application form
• One-line drawing diagram