I have researched hydro power for some time now. Net metering only works if you if you let the power company hold all the cards. yes they will give you credit for the power you produce, at wholesale pricing, and then they charge you full price to buy your power back. I guess thats the price you pay for using there infrastructure, and I'm ok with that. But heres the rub. If you produce more power than you use, they get to keep it, giving you nothing. Around here, the Tennessee Valley Authority, (TVA), controls all the power. In order to hook alternative power sources to their grid, you have to build according to their specs. Now I can see them wanting to protect there folks not wanting you back feeding power down the system and all that, but they also want to tell you just how big of a system you can build. When building a new home with intentions of producing your own power, the TVA wants to tell you what size house to build, how you will insulate it, what kind of windows you can install, how big a power system you can build, what kind of system you can use and a host of other hoops to jump thru, or they wont let you hook your system to their grid. If you have a older house already built, and want to add a few solar panels to it, its OK, go ahead, just let us know so we can inspect it when your done. If it sounds like I have a grudge against the power company, its because i do.
While we plan on a smaller energy efficient house, I also plan a large, high energy using shop. I have equipment that will require more power than I think I can produce. My shop work would be in spurts, a few hours today, none tommorrow, maybe a little next week, that sort of thing. For this reason, the net metering makes sense as I would be banking power when I wasnt working in the shop, and then just withdraw that power when I need it. With hydro, you produce power 24/7, not just when the sun is shining. It cost a little more to use battery storage than it does to bank your power with the power company, but batteries are the route I have chosen. I dont plan on living forever and one good battery bank will probably out live me. Batteries are more reliable than the power grid. Where I will be building the house, it will be the last home on the line. If the power goes out anywhere, it will be out at my house. We lived there for years and I know how long the power can be off in that area. Using net metering, with no battery backup, might keep you in lights for a while when the grid goes down, but you would certainly be limited to the amount of power you can use. With battery storage, you are only limited to the size of the storage your batteries can provide.