Archive for September, 2012

New Jersey Revenue Grade Meter Requirement

Posted September 28th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

In late spring 2012, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) mandated that all photovoltaic facilities participating the in the New Jersey SREC market have revenue-grade meters installed to monitor system production. Previous to the ruling it was possible for systems with a nameplate capacity of less than 10 kW create SRECs from production estimates derived from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s  PV Watts production calculator. This ruling impacts thousands system of homeowners in New Jersey who have gone solar over the past several years. You can read more about the decision at the New Jersey office of Clean Energy website. The two key aspects of this ruling are:

1. In order to be eligible for SRECs, all NJ customers must have a revenue-grade meter by November 30, 2012.

2. Customers who have had SRECs created by estimates will have to begin reporting readings by November 30, 2012.

Revenue-grade Meters

Revenue-grade meters are power production meters that measure to +/- 2% accuracy per the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) rule C12.1-2008. Inverters often have power production meters but they are often only accurate to  +/- 10%. The revenue-grade meter is the device that measures the output of your solar system, not the utility meter that measures how much power you take from the power grid. Many residential installs in New Jersey have used cheaper, non-revenue-grade meters because the state originally did not require them. If your meter is not a revenue-grade meter or you are unsure about whether or not you have a revenue-grade meter, you will need to contact your installer. If you are unable to reach your installer, you can use our directory to find a local installer. We have seen price quotes in the $300 to $1,000 range depending on equipment requirements and facility location.

Switching from Estimates

Many of our customers already report their readings to SRECTrade each month. If you have not been reporting to us because you are on “Estimated Generation”, your SRECs will no longer be created automatically after November 30th.  On that date, we will switch all customers who are currently on “estimates” to “reported readings”. If you are on estimates and are able to begin reporting your readings from your revenue-grade meter sooner than that, please email customerservice@srectrade.com with the date that the meter was installed and your current meter reading. We will then update your account and explain how to report your readings directly to your www.srectrade.com account moving forward.

***If you have questions about revenue-grade meters, please contact an installer. We won’t be able to answer questions regarding your solar equipment.

Finally, it is very important that you comply with this change, otherwise you will lose thousands of dollars in potential SREC revenues in the long run. We understand that the BPU ruling is unfortunately retroactive for systems that did not have a meter already installed, however, we hope that this information will make it easier for you to comply with the change.

 

SRECTrade and GTM Research Launch Report Series on US SREC Market Dynamics

Posted September 21st, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Greentech Media Press Release Can Be Found Here

SREC Market Monitor provides quarterly financial and demand analysis on the state SREC markets that account for nearly one-quarter of total U.S. PV installations.

SRECTrade and GTM Research today release SREC Market Monitor, the solar industry’s first quarterly report series devoted to covering state SREC markets in the U.S. With SREC programs forecasted to account for nearly 25 percent of the 3.2 gigawatts to be installed nationally in 2012, understanding the risk and opportunity latent in SREC states will be imperative for industry players.

At 72 pages, SREC Market Monitor: 2nd Quarter 2012 provides qualitative state-by-state SREC market analyses, regulatory policy updates affecting these markets, quarterly bid/offer pricing by state, data on SREC supply by state, historical SREC pricing, as well as updated RPS figures for each SREC market. The reports analyze the following markets: Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

FIGURE: SREC Info Map, Q2 2012


Source: SREC Market Monitor: 2nd Quarter 2012

“Over the past five years, SRECTrade has specialized in providing liquidity, transparency and an unparalleled amount of insight into the complex movements of SREC markets across the U.S.,” said Brad Bowery, CEO of SRECTrade. “Our partnership with GTM Research now allows us to go beyond structuring transactions and reach a larger audience who can employ the market monitor to better assess the risk and opportunity of these complex SREC mechanisms.”

“State markets driven by SREC incentives now make up nearly 25 percent of total U.S. installations annually,” said Shayle Kann, VP of Research at GTM Research. “Our quarterly report series with SRECTrade strengthens our U.S. PV foundation and provides our clients with the most timely analysis on the SREC potential, as well as the possible pitfalls, for their businesses.”

For more information on SREC Market Monitor and to purchase a copy, visit www.greentechmedia.com/research/srec-market-monitor.

SAMPLE SREC ANALYSIS BY STATE

  • NEW JERSEY: Trading volume increased in New Jersey as prices stabilized in anticipation of new legislation signed in July. Forward contracts have seen the largest increase in activity as the spot and forward price curves converge.
  • MASSACHUSETTS: After two years of significant undersupply and high SREC prices, rates of installation increased dramatically in Massachusetts, leading to a 50% drop in the 2012 SREC spot price. As market participants adjust to the reality of oversupply, it is clear that the market will trade well below the price support in the early part of the year.
  • MARYLAND: Maryland continues to find support in the legislature for its SREC program. In May, the solar carve-out requirements were moved forward by two years. While this change has kept Maryland from facing a pending oversupply, the market continues to grow at a rate designed to meet requirements under the new legislation.
  • DELAWARE: In April, Delaware launched the pilot of its SREC Procurement Program managed by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) and administered by SRECTrade on behalf of Delmarva Power. The program represents a significant shift in the state’s SREC market that could become a model for other states struggling with SREC volatility. It is the first independent, statewide solicitation for long-term SREC contracts.
  • WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Washington, D.C. market continues to be a bright spot for the solar industry. Given the small, urban footprint of the district, the solar carve-out is an ambitious piece of legislation. Constrained by space, smaller solar installations will dominate this market, naturally preventing the wild swings in supply that have led to volatility in other markets.
  • PENNSYLVANIA: SRECs continue to trade in the $20 to $30 range with an occasional spike. Despite attempts by sponsoring lawmakers, Pennsylvania continues to struggle to garner support for a legislative fix that would accelerate the solar RPS and create demand for SRECs.
  • OHIO: The market was particularly slow in Q2 as 2012 trading activity concluded. In-state demand had been strong over the past few years, but there has been a slowdown as supply has steadily grown to meet that demand. Meanwhile, the OH-adjacent market, which includes SRECs from states that border Ohio, continues to be significantly oversupplied.

Interested in purchasing this quarter’s SREC Market MonitorClick here to learn more.

New York Solar Legislation Update

Posted September 21st, 2012 by SRECTrade.

A series of bipartisan bills were signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on August 20th aimed at supporting business and homeowner investments in solar energy.  We outline the bills below.

Bill 34-B, expands the 25% tax credit for non- 3rd party owners, lessees, and PPA off takers. The credit does not exceed $3,750 for “qualified solar energy system equipment expenditures” before September 1st, 2006 or $5,000 on “qualified solar energy system equipment expenditures” after September 1st 2006. Qualified solar expenditures include:

A) Solar equipment installed on a property in the state and is the principal residence of the taxpayer at the time of install.

B) A solar equipment lease of at least 10 years in New York and is the principal residence of the taxpayer at the time of install.

C) Power purchase agreement spanning at least 10 years in New York and is the principal residence of the taxpayer at the time of install.

D) The expenditures connected with installation and labor.

E) This does not include the interest or other finance charges of solar equipment purchase.

Bill A10620 allows a property tax abatement over a “compliance period” of four years available to solar-generating systems installed in cities of one million people or more. The bill covers:

A)  Installations before January 1st 2011 can receive a tax credit that is the lesser of:

    1. 8.75% of facility cost
    2. 8.75% total amount of taxes payable
    3. $62,500

B) Installations on or after January 1st 2011 and before January 1st 2013 can receive a tax credit that is the lesser of:

    1. 5% of facility cost
    2. 5% total amount of taxes payable
    3. $62,500

C) Installations on or after January 1st 2013 but before or on January 1st 2015 can receive a tax credit that is the lesser of:

    1. 2.5% of facility cost
    2. 2.5% total amount of taxes payable
    3. $62,500

Senate Bill S03203 exempts commercial solar energy system installation costs from state sales tax obligations. Additionally Senate Bill S03203 gives municipalities the power to grant certain systems a tax exemption.

On another note, the much anticipated, “NY Solar Jobs Act” legislation, formally bill A05713 has been watered down under a renamed Assembly Bill  A09149.  This new bill, proposed by Assemblyman Steven Englebright eliminates language creating a state-wide SREC market due to push back from the New York Senate and Governor’s office. Representatives from Steven Englebright’s office, maintain “cautious optimism” that the bill will gain support when the 2013 Legislative Session begins in January. As of September 7th,  the “Solar Jobs Act” is searching for a Senate sponsor.

Analysis of the bill can be found on VoteSolar.org here. The bill sets a solar target of 670 MW in 2015 and ramps up to 3,000 MW in 2021 but segments goals in to three separate requirements, based on type of utility. The bill allows the utilities the ability to define how they plan to achieve the solar mandate and does not specify interim solar requirements between 2015 and 2021.

 Utility Type  2015  2021
 Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs)  270 MW  900 MW
 New York Power Authority  120 MW  400 MW
 Long Island Power Authority  150 MW  500 MW

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – August 2012

Posted September 12th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: August 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 28,155 solar PV and 437 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 185 (0.65%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 18 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in Maryland is 16.1 MW. The third largest system, at 12.5 MW, is located in New Jersey.

Delaware: The reporting year 2012 (6/1/12 – 5/31/13) requirement for DE equates to approximately 48,100 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2012 vintage, approximately 40.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of September 11, 2012, 28.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,900 DE2012.  Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: As of September 11, 2012, 72.5 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. A large increase came from a 16.1 MW project Constellation Energy commissioned at Mount St. Mary’s University. The 2012 reporting year requirement for MD equates to approximately 67,310 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of MD2012 vintage, approximately 56.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 41,800 MD2012 SRECs. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 and 2013 reporting years require 442,000 and 596,000 eligible SRECs, respectively. For 2012, this equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long and 496.7 MW for 2013, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, 843.3 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 843.3 MW figure. As of July 31, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 852.7 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Estimates for August 2012 show a total of 876.0 MW. On July 23, NJ Governor, Chris Christie, signed into law legislation to increase the Solar RPS requirements. For details see the following: NJ Governor Christie Signs Bill to Increase Solar Requirements. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 699,200 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs by approximately 257,200 SRECs. Additionally, the second month of RY2013 generation was issued at the end of August. GATS reported a total of 196,700 total NJ2013 SRECs for the compliance year to date were issued; approximately 33% of the current year’s obligation (not considering the eligible oversupply from NJ2012).

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of September 11, 2012, 50.2 MW of in-state capacity and 96.7 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, GATS issued approximately 40,400 in-state and 71,900 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 and 2013 requirements for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 and 78,750 eligible SRECs, respectively. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 and 2013 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 and 65.6 MW would need to be operational all year long within each compliance period. As of September 11, 2012, 222.4 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 220,000 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period. Additionally, as of September 11, 2012 GATS reported approximately 52,000 PA2013 SRECs were issued.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of September 11, 2012, 24.4 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of September 11, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 18,000 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of September 11, 2012, there were 3,134 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 3,118 operational and 16 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 121.3 MW, 110.4 of which is operational and 10.9 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 14,479 Q1 2012 SRECs were issued on July 15, 2012. Additionally, 53,359 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 5 months covering April-August 2012.

Capacity Summary By State

The tables above demonstrate the capacity breakout by state. Note, that for all PJM GATS registered projects, each state includes all projects certified to sell into that state. State RPS programs that allow for systems sited in other states to participate have been broken up by systems sited in-state and out-of-state. Additional detail has been provided to demonstrate the total capacity of systems only certified for one specific state market versus being certified for multiple state markets. For example, PA includes projects only certified to sell into the PA SREC market, broken out by in-state and out-of-state systems, as well as projects that are also certified to sell into PA and Other State markets broken out by in state and out of state systems (i.e. OH, DC, MD, DE, NJ). PA Out of State includes systems sited in states with their own state SREC market (i.e. DE) as well as systems sited in states that have no SREC market (i.e. VA). Also, it is important to note that the Current Capacity represents the total megawatts eligible to produce and sell SRECs as of the noted date, while the Estimated Required Capacity – Current and Next Reporting Year represents the estimated number of MW that need to be online on average throughout the reporting period to meet the RPS requirement within each state with only that particular compliance period vintage. For example, New Jersey needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 vintage SRECs only. SRECs still available from prior eligible periods can also impact the Solar RPS requirements. Additionally, the data presented above does not include projects that are in the pipeline or currently going through the registration process in each state program. This data represents specifically the projects that have been approved for the corresponding state SREC markets as of the dates noted.

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. Projected SRECs required utilizes the most recent EIA electricity data applying an average 1.5% growth rate per forecast year. The state’s RPS Solar requirement is then multiplied by forecast total electricity sales to arrive at projected SRECs required. Projected capacity required is based on a factor of 1,200 MWh in PJM states and 1,130 MWh in MA, generated per MW of installed capacity per year.