CONCORD, NH The H L Turner Group Inc. (Turner Group) applauds the bipartisan leadership efforts of New Hampshire's legislative and executive branches to pass HB1116 into law. The new ("net metering") bill expands the current net metering cap of 50MW to 100MW. Equally important, the bill requires the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC) to establish new rates in 2017 for future net metering customers in New Hampshire, so that future caps can be eliminated in a more open and transparent electrical energy marketplace. Net metering forms the backbone of a more deregulated electrical energy supply and consumption environment. Together with grid modernization initiatives, customers stand to gain greater choices and more control over their own electrical energy costs.

The use of net metering is also essential in undertaking the construction of Net Zero Energy or Zero Net Energy (ZNE) projects that produce as much energy as they consume. Also known as Zero Energy Building (ZEB) construction, Navigant Research estimates this global market growth to reach $1.4 trillion by 2035, with zero net energy homes (ZNEHs) in North America to reach 27,000 in 2025.

"We are very supportive of an "all of the above" approach to regional energy planning," said Harold Turner, P.E., President/CEO of The H L Turner Group Inc. "As one of those strategies for electrical energy production, "˜net metering' is a paramount element in fostering the growth of "˜behind the meter' distributed energy resources that don't have to be financed and built by large utility interests. By now all of us have come to understand that, despite the short term fluctuations that occur in the cost of energy, long term total energy costs will continue to rise as a worldwide commodity. Building owners and developers are slowly learning that there is real value created in constructing high performance buildings that also include some form of self- generation. Going beyond "green", by adding high performance features and self-generation, enhances the market value of sustainably designed properties."

The Turner Group undertook the ROSE Cottage Project in 2011 to demonstrate what could be accomplished on a residential scale of ZEB construction. A net metered 13.8kw solar PV system is incorporated in the project, as well as a Bosch solar hot water and ground source heat pump system. The ROSE Cottage Project was the first building constructed as part of the privately funded RCMZeroEnergy.com educational website created to promote the use of ZEB construction through a web-based contact with consumers, builders, and developers. The site also offers a free e-newsletter, "The Zero Net", that provides up to date ZNE industry news.