Dover High School on Thursday unveiled its new solar array, the largest rooftop installation in the state.
It can generate close to a megawatt of power, enough to meet 40 percent of the school’s electricity needs. Any excess generation is sold back to the grid to help lower the schools energy bill.
That process is called net metering, and it’s currently capped at one megawatt for large arrays like Dover’s. This week, state legislators declined for the second year in a row to raise that cap.
Dan Weeks works with ReVision Energy, which built the array at Dover High. He says the current net metering limit makes it hard for larger solar arrays to be economical.
"We'll continue to do our bread and butter, which is homes and businesses and non-profits, but there will not be the flood of other experienced solar companies and jobs that New Hampshire needs."
Dover High School’s array is currently investor-owned, meaning the city didn’t pay anything for it up front. They can buy it outright after 10 years.
