<Every unit I send back to the grid is a unit that doesn't need to be delivered by the power company but the power company can sell it to my neighbor for retail

<Every unit I send back to the grid is a unit that doesn't need to be delivered by the power company but the power company can sell it to my neighbor for retail price.> Your entire premise assumes that there is an immediate, local, retail consumer who will buy all 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.