&lt;Every unit I send back to the grid is a unit that doesn&#x27;t need to be delivered by the power company but the power company can sell it to my neighbor for retail price.&gt;<p>Your entire premise assumes that there is an <i>immediate, local, retail consumer</i> who will buy <i>all</i> of your production the instant you produce it.  Under the net-metering model, the utility has to pay you retail for the power even if it is surplus and unsellable.