## 1 Introduction
By setting the sell rate at the avoided cost rate, NEB may encourage self-consumption, where PV systems are sized to minimize DG export to the grid, as the net export at the avoided cost rate can be compensated at rates as low as 20% of the retail electricity rate that utilities charge to their customers [7]. This is not always the case. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), for example, started a Generation Partner (GP) Pilot program in 2003 to provide customers with an alternative to NEM. The Generation Partners Pilot program was an NEB program, and participation in the program was optional. In 2012, Green Power Providers (GPPs) replaced the GP program with key features of declining generation payment or export rates (referred to as the avoid cost rate above) at retail plus a USD 0.12/kWh premium in 2012 that was incrementally decreased to retail in 2016 (essentially a NEM policy without PV system size restriction). In 2018, GPP generation payments were modified to reflect the valley-wide approximate retail rate of USD 0.09/kWh for residential and GSA-1 systems under 10 kW and USD 0.075/kWh for all other eligible commercial/industrial and residential systems [8]. In the US, NEB or \"buy all, sell all\" pricing systems have become successors of NEM in some states. As a result, the grid export price is credited at rates close to the utility's avoided cost [6]. Arkansas followed this path in 2024 when NEM was replaced with NEB using an export rate at the avoided cost rate [9]. Among many influencing factors that impact the feasibility of PV investment, including the level of solar irradiation, the volume of investment required, and the availability of financial incentives for green energy, the rules for selling and buying energy have a large impact on the financial performance of PV systems. Poultry is the largest commodity of the agricultural sector in the state of Arkansas in terms of annual sales. It ranks as the second largest poultry producing state in the country [10]. In 2021, 7.46 billion pounds of broiler chicken were produced with an annual value of USD 3.97 billion. Energy is one of the critical inputs to modern poultry farming in the US, and its overall use in poultry production and processing is constantly growing [11]. There are major challenges facing the poultry industry, including high energy intensity with high demand for fossil fuel, and escalating electricity prices, among others. In typical commercial meat-type poultry (i.e., broiler or turkey) houses, electricity is used for feed and water delivery, lighting, ventilation, and warm season cooling (Figure 1), while heating fuels such as natural gas or propane are used for space heating. The energy demand of environment-controlled houses fluctuates with seasons. The relative proportions between heating fuel and electricity use depend largely on the local climate and age of birds. Higher fuel demand for heat occurs during cold seasons with younger birds, and higher electricity demand for cooling occurs during warm seasons and as flocks age. Agricultural producers in Arkansas have adopted PV systems (Figure 2) in the past years [12; 13]. Under the NEM scheme, commercial PV systems were typically sized up to 100% of the annual electricity consumption (kWh) of the farm business. However, Arkansas' favorable 1:1 renewable NEM was replaced by NEB at avoided cost in 2024 [14], and PV adoption by commercial farms has greatly slowed down. Figure 1: Electrical equipment in a typical broiler house in the US, including feed and water delivery lines, ceiling lights, exhaust and circulation fans, and radiant tube heaters with internal blowers. There are benefits of promoting DG projects in comparison to larger utility-scale PV systems. Among the pros for smaller farm-scale systems are deferring the need for new grid upgrades, reducing line losses, utilizing marginal lands, and locking in energy costs for producers willing to make the PV system investment.