Alabama public power utility Huntsville Utilities has launched its Solar Connect program with the goal of rewarding customers who return excess solar generation to the Huntsville grid.
In an interview with APPA, Huntsville Utilities director of external affairs Joe Gehrdes outlined the program’s origins and how it will help participating customers lower their electric bills.
Huntsville Utilities began discussing the Solar Connect program in 2024, a process Gehrdes noted was driven in part by the imminent closure of similar TVA-backed programs.
“It was proposed by our CEO Wes Kelley to offer something similar to the solar programs TVA has managed, which they’re now starting to sunset,” Gehrdes said.
Huntsville began mapping its own local iteration of a program akin to TVA’s Dispersed Power Production initiative, one that directly rewards Huntsville residents for sending on-premise solar back to the city’s grid.
“It’s pretty straightforward - whenever that customer is generating more than they're using and pushing electrons back out onto the grid, then they get paid for that,” Gehrdes said.
Huntsville is offering a kilowatt-hour rate of nearly six and a half cents in 2026 and will be adjusting those rates annually to ensure customers are fairly compensated for their energy generation.
Gehrdes noted the infrastructure and processes for setting up the program were already in place, with Huntsville’s AMI allowing for direct measurement of how much solar generation customers were returning to the grid.
Two participants in Solar Connect’s pilot – a local pecan farmer and technical solutions company respectively - were also legacy participants in prior TVA solar buyback programs and had the ability to generate the maximum of 50Kh Huntsville will purchase through the program.
As Gehrdes explained, this 50KW buyback cap means the program is intended for residential and small commercial customers looking to lessen their energy bills.
While Huntsville isn’t necessarily on par with a peak solar region like the American Southwest, whose warm winters and lack of clouding allow for unusually high year-round generation, Gehrdes anticipates this summer will allow the program’s early adopters to start seeing returns.
Huntsville Utilities has also endeavored to make the Solar Connect application process as streamlined as possible for their customers, including working with homebuilder’s associations to expedite certification.
“Everything anyone needs to know is on our website in terms of getting your system approved through our program. Obviously, there are certifications and inspections involved, including their required local building code jurisdiction inspections. We are also working with our local homebuilder’s association to provide training for code officials so they won't be caught unaware by something they've never seen before,” Gehrdes said.
In addition to anticipated returns from Solar Connect, Huntsville has also benefited from solar purchasing agreements with larger commercial entities. Toyota Motor Manufacturing and Toyota Tsusho have built a 30MW solar generation system that feeds into their local manufacturing plant and sends excess generation back into Huntsville’s grid.
This has been an asset for peak shaving, with Gehdres noting that “in a little over 2 years, that has saved our customers upwards of $6 million.”
Huntsville Utilities expects Solar Connect to have its own cumulative impact from the buyback its residential and small commercial customers can offer. The city currently has a 1MW cap on how much generation Solar Connect can provide based on prior agreements with TVA, translating to a current limit of around 200 participating customers, which Gehrdes expects the utility to potentially reach within two or three years.
Huntsville Utilities expects the program to find early adopters among residential customers who relocated to Huntsville from areas that have their own solar buyback programs, and who are familiar with the financial benefits of selling their excess generation.
While Huntsville’s size and its prior work with TVA facilitated Solar Connect’s deployment, Gehrdes explained that the program’s straightforward design would make it easily replicable and provide returns for smaller public power utilities as well.
“We're glad we finally have something to offer. I don't think any of our neighbors are offering anything right now, but we’re at a place where we need every electron we can get. Renewables and energy efficiency have become very important and can thankfully offer that,” Gehrdes said.
Gehrdes encouraged other Alabama public power utilities to replicate Solar Connect in designing their own programs, and to reach out directly for advice on how to make the most of renewable generation buyback.
“In the public power world, we're not shy about sharing. So, if anybody in our neighborhood wanted to duplicate this program, we would be an open book on all of that,” he said.
