Solar installers’ costs

I write to emphasize a couple of issues relevant to the solar net metering program in New Hampshire.

First, anyone using solar energy automatically reduces the electricity usage charge on their bill by the amount of energy they do not buy from their utility.

Second, excess solar electricity is fed back into the electric grid and paid for by the utility. If that payment is more than the cost of comparable renewable energy the utility could acquire, the excess cost is also added to the bills of non-solar energy owners.

In New England, utilities and ultimately their non-solar customers, are paying more for the excess net metering solar electricity than it would cost them to acquire the same amount of renewable energy from non-net metering sources. One option to reduce the cost of buying excess net metering solar electricity is to set the reimbursement rate to the solar energy owner at the avoided cost, i.e. the cost the utility would otherwise have to pay to buy the same amount of renewable energy.

Developers and installers of solar systems object to using this calculation to reduce the net metering rate paid to solar energy owners because it will take the owner longer to recover the capital cost it has paid for the solar system and thus, it is believed, will reduce the number of sales of solar systems by the developers.

To prove that assertion developers and installers of net metering solar facilities should open their books and allow a public audit of the costs of such systems. Such transparency will enable the public to know if the high cost of the solar installation could be due to unwise cost controls by the developer, unreasonable rates of return/profits earned by the developer, or other factors that unnecessarily inflate the cost of solar systems. In short, put their money where their mouth is.

Anthony Z. Roisman

Weathersfield

Lions’ labors

What can we do? We can prune your trees, wash your windows, paint your room, clean up your garden, or deliver your mulch. We can offer a random act of kindness for one of your friends or neighbors or family members. And more.

We are members of the Hanover Lions, and we are hosting the online April Action Auction from April 1 to April 13 to raise money and split the proceeds between the Maynard House, a home away from home for relatives whose family members are getting medical care; and World Central Kitchen, which feeds people in the midst of a disaster.

What can you do? Get in on the action (auction). And join the (Hanover Lions) club.

Want a preview? Check out our present list of items: 32auctions.com/hanoverlionsauction2025.

Bill Hammond

Hanover

Better than Broadway

We are living through what may be the darkest, scariest, saddest time in generations. The lack of checks and balances in our government, the tensions with our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, the firehose of change, the inescapable uncertainty that lies before us. Dire times.

We have been disheartened to the point where if we had not made plans with our dear cousin and not purchased tickets for “Waitress” at Northern Stage, we would have been content to stay home. We tend to plan our life around whether or not we can get home to our dogs, books, and bed by 9 p.m.

Upon leaving every show I have ever seen at Northern Stage, I comment, “We are so lucky that we get to see such good theatre in this small town.” But “Waitress” swept me away from the spare melody of the very first words: Sugar, Sugar, Butter, Flour.

I was so completely transported, so completely enveloped in sound, sight and story, that I was surprised to find myself back in the theatre when intermission came.

The show energized us, and we stayed for the talk-back session with this vibrant cast. An older man raised his hand and said that he had seen “Waitress” on Broadway and that this show was better. Toward the end of the talk, a younger man said the same thing. Man, are we lucky.

For two hours and 20 minutes, I did not think once of the state of our country. What a gift to be immersed in harmony, story and belly laughter with our community.

As we walked to our cars, hours after bedtime, our cousin said, “I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.”

Thank you, Northern Stage and the entire cast and crew of “Waitress.”

Mary van Beuren

Hartland