Noel Perrin (1927-2004) was an author, Professor of English Literature, and self-taught farmer. A city transplant, he moved to Thetford Center, Vermont, in 1963. There he began his explorations of rural life which he chronicled in his many books and essays.

Noel Perrin was the first Vermonter to interconnect a solar electric (photovoltaic or PV) system with the grid, a decade before the concept of “net metering” and “spinning your meter backwards” would become law in Vermont. In the process of doing this he not only paved the way for the thousands of Vermonters who now power their homes with solar energy, but he also taught me a very important business lesson – that listening to your customers and understanding their motivation is always the foundation of a successful project.

It was in the spring of 1990 that Noel first called me and wanted to discuss solar energy. After a few phone conversations, he asked me to meet him at his house in Thetford Center. Getting off his tractor and introducing himself as “Ned”, he showed me around his old farmhouse and said he was interested in solar electricity. Since he was connected to the electric grid (which cost about 8 cents a kilowatt-hour at the time) and solar electricity then cost about 50 cents a kWh, I immediately tried to steer him toward a solar hot water system as the most practical choice.

Listening politely, he let me lecture on the advantages of solar hot water and how photovoltaics were not cost-effective for his situation. He thanked me for my time and said he would think about my advice. A few weeks later, Ned called me again and said, “You know, I am still thinking about solar energy and everything you told me. Would you mind coming down again?” I went, of course, and our discussions continued. It took me awhile, but I finally began to understand that Ned wanted a solar electric system and all my talk about how solar should be cost-effective was really beside the point. “If I can spend $16,500 on a car, I can spend it on a solar array,” he finally told me.

Ned, of course, had a plan. He wanted to get an electric vehicle, power it with solar energy, and commute (with zero impact) to teach his Dartmouth Environmental Studies class. Part of the motivation turned out to be a certain undergraduate who had accused him of being a hypocrite for using nuclear power and fossil fuels while talking about environmentally sustainable lifestyles. But Ned was also thinking about his next book idea, which eventually was published under the title Solo: Life with an Electric Car. It was a grand plan, but he kept it to himself as any self-respecting Yankee would. At the time, I only knew that Ned wanted a solar electric system (no batteries, please) and that he would gladly pay for me to meet with the utility, for as long as it took, to get approval to install the first grid-connect PV system in Vermont.

Today, when you want to install a small residential PV system, you simply file a registration form and within 10 days you are good to go. In 1990, owing to the fact that a solar system had never been connected to the Vermont grid, it wasn’t quite so simple. Ned generously paid my time over the summer to meet with the engineering staff of Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) who wanted to make sure that Ned’s proposed two-kilowatt system would not destabilize Vermont’s electric grid. Ned accompanied me on several of those trips to Rutland to observe the process. While I often shook my head in disbelief over each new concern raised by the utility, Ned would smile and remark that it was important that his solar system could operate in harmony with the grid and not inconvenience any of his neighbors.

It was the fall of 1990 when approval finally came through from the utility to move ahead with the system. Two meters would be required: one to measure incoming electricity at then current retail rate of 8 cents per kWh and a second meter to record outgoing solar power when the system supplied more than what Ned’s home needed. The outgoing meter would be credited at 4 cents a kWh, the wholesale electric rate at the time. Today we know that solar generation is worth more than the retail cost of electricity because it can offset very expensive generation required to meet peak loads, lowering electricity costs for all ratepayers. But for Ned it wasn’t about money and he knew enough not to complain. “Fair enough, I don’t maintain the distribution system”, he wrote, accepting CVPS’s terms.

By early 1991, the system was installed and generating power. Ned insisted that we hold a grand opening ceremony on March 21, the spring equinox, with the utility as the guest of honor. When the day arrived, Peter Lind, CVPS’ VP of Energy Services, presented Ned with a 3-foot wide replica of his first check. As I remember, it was for $4.92, though I could be off by a few cents. Ned, dressed in his brand new farm jacket, dutifully posed for the cameras with his check in front of his solar array. Thetford Sun Power, as Ned named his little power plant, made the headlines the next day.

In the years to come, Ned would fill his barn with various electric vehicles, add a second solar array, and write several books about his exploration of solar energy and electric vehicles. When solar net metering finally was approved by the Vermont Legislature in 1999, almost 10 years after Ned had installed his system, I called to tell him the great news. He was happy about the progress being made to support solar energy, but a bit nostalgic about having to change his two meter setup.

“I will apply for a Certificate of Public Good right away”, I said, referring to the new rules that required PV systems, no matter how small, to get approval from the State’s Public Service Board (PSB) in return for expedited interconnection. “No rush”, he said, “system’s been working fine for ten years”. Thinking that the first grid-connect solar system in Vermont should really get the first net metering certificate from the state, I applied on Ned’s behalf immediately. When approval came back from the PSB, I was chagrined to see that it was certificate NM #2 – homeowners across Vermont were starting to install solar.

Being first was never important to Ned, but making sure others could benefit from his lessons learned certainly was. He would be happy to know that today over 5,000 net metering certificates have been issued in Vermont and that Vermont is #1 in solar jobs per capita – achievements helped along by his pioneering efforts 35 years ago.

– Leigh Seddon