Itron makes a move in the solar market by introducing a meter for power use
Liberty Lake-based Itron, Inc. announced recently it's developing and selling energy meters for the solar market.
This is an annoucement altogether focused on the growing number of third-party companies that are producing solar power systems for residential or commercial buildings.
In that light, what Itron is proposing is a specific solar meter that identifies how much solar power goes into the local property, and how much of it is used.
From the Itron release:The revenue-grade solar meter, which utilizes an Itron cellular communication module, is ideal for monitoring the energy production of residential and commercial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
The availability of third-party-owned residential solar systems has driven rapid growth in the solar market. Itron’s solar offering takes advantage of this growth by enabling third-party solar providers to collect, store and upload a solar system’s production data over an existing cellular network link.
With developments in renewable energy increasing, so does the need to effectively monitor and manage the integration of these energy resources into the electrical grid. Itron’s solar offering gives solar providers an accurate, reliable way to measure and manage solar production data with a secure, low-cost communication network for data collection.
“Cellular is a natural fit for the solar market,” said Campbell McCool, marketing communications for Itron Cellular Solutions. “Cellular communications leverage existing infrastructure, making solar meters easy and affordable to connect, and can easily and cost-effectively scale as more solar resources are added in various locations. In addition, increasingly low rates make cellular an appealing option for solar providers.