Archive for November, 2012

MEA Statement on SRECs from Maryland’s Mount St. Mary’s Project

Posted November 27th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Today, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) released a letter to Maryland solar industry stakeholders announcing how the Department of General Services (DGS) and the University System of Maryland (USM) will be managing SRECs purchased from the 17.4 MW project sited at Mount St. Mary’s (MSM) University in Emmitsburg, MD.

The letter explains that DGS and USM are responsible for purchasing electricity and SRECs from 10.67 MW and 5.33 MW of the project, respectively.  The MEA goes on to explain DGS will act as a “provider of last resort” and will sell SRECs only if the market needs them. The letter also states the MEA suggested DGS set an offer price of 90% of the SACP for these excess SRECs.

Furthermore, the administration’s letter covers USM’s management plan stating that, “USM is committed to using SRECs to meet its RPS requirements, and could potentially use any surplus to meet future RPS requirements, voluntary carbon reductions, and/or potential future utility budget shortfalls. USM is cognizant of the fact that MSM’s SRECs represent a significant share of the market in 2013 and 2014, when the market is most vulnerable to potential oversupply. USM does not currently intend to sell the excess SRECs in 2013 or 2014.”

These statements demonstrate the volume of SRECs owned by DGS will only be sold in under-supplied compliance periods. USM’s management plan states the current intention to hold SRECs in the near term, but appears there could be instances in which USM’s excess SRECs are sold to help bridge budget shortfalls.

For a full copy of the MEA letter click here.

A more detailed analysis of this statement’s impact on Maryland SREC supply will be available in the SREC Market Monitor, a joint-venture between SRECTrade and Greentech Media’s GTM Research.

SREC Market Monitor: Q3 2012 Report Available

Posted November 26th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

GTM Research and SRECTrade released the SREC Market Monitor: Q3 2012 report in mid November.

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

The report includes 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, and updated RPS figures for each SREC market.

To subscribe to the report click here.

 

 

SRECTrade Webinar for Massachusetts Installers

Posted November 16th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade will host an hour long webinar for Massachusetts solar installers on Wednesday, 12/5 at 2 pm EST.  To register for the webinar please click here.

The webinar will be co-moderated by SRECTrade’s CEO Brad Bowery,  Lisa Wadsworth and Sam Rust. The presentation is slated to last 30-40 minutes, with the the rest of the webinar open for questions. Topics covered in the presentation will be:

  • Overview of customer options
  • Account set up best practices
  • SREC market mechanics
  • Pricing trends and market outlook
We look forward to seeing you online Wednesday, 12/5 at 2 pm EST!

About the presenters:

Brad Bowery is the CEO of SRECTrade, a company that he has managed since 2008. Under Brad’s stewardship SRECTrade provides SREC services for over 5,000 facilities and 70+ MW of aggregated solar capacity. Brad holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Lisa Wadsworth is the Applications Manager for SRECTrade and is responsible for managing SRECTrade’s team of employees dedicated to navigating the complex SREC registration process across all of the SREC markets.

Sam Rust is the Director of Channel Operations for SRECTrade and works closely with the company’s installer partners to improve SRECTrade’s services.

Pennsylvania Legislative Update

Posted November 14th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

In July 2012 Pennsylvania State Senator Dave Argall (R-29th District) introduced PA Senate Bill (SB) 1350 with 18 co-sponsors. The bill was then submitted to the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection and Licensure Committee in August. The earliest the Bill could be reviewed is in the 2013 legislative session, so there is little to report right now.

Senator Argall’s website describes SB 1350 as an updated adoption of Representative Chris Ross’ (R-Chester) failed House Bill 1580 which we described in these previous blog posts.

Key points proposed in SB 1350 are:

  • Accelerates the existing Pennsylvania Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) over 3 years, starting with RY 2013.
  • Establishes a cap on the SREC prices through a set Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) of $285 per SREC out to 2019 (currently PA does not have an ACP), followed by a decline of 2% per year.
  • Allows for solar thermal facilities to qualify for SRECs along with solar photovoltaic systems.
  • Adds consumer protection language for educating stakeholders about SREC prices.
  • Does not include a clause to prevent qualified out of state photovoltaic facilities from selling SRECs in the Pennsylvania market.

New Jersey Revenue Grade Meter Deadline is November 30th

Posted November 13th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Starting December 1, 2012 all New Jersey sited photovoltaic facilities must report power generation for SRECs from revenue grade meters.  The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) ruling requires revenue grade meters  that are accurate to +/- 2% and that are compliant with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) rule C12.1-2008 standard. See our previous post on the topic here.

Prior to this rule change facilities smaller in size than 10 kW DC capacity had the option to report from “estimated” production. With this change no facilities will be able to create SRECs automatically from estimated generation and must report meter readings from an actual meter. Starting December 1, no SRECs from estimated production will be produced.

Switching from Estimates

If you are creating SRECs from estimated generation and are able to begin reporting your readings from your revenue grade meter please email customerservice@srectrade.com with your reading. We will then explain how to report your readings directly to your www.srectrade.com account moving forward.

Installing a Revenue Grade Meter

  • If you have questions about revenue-grade meters, please contact a solar contractor or electrician. We won’t be able to answer questions regarding your solar equipment.
  • Residential revenue grade meters installed by solar contractors tend to range in price from $300 to over $1,000 depending on the type of meter installed.
  • Some SRECTrade clients have opted to manage the revenue grade meter installations themselves by ordering meter parts direct from suppliers such as the Hialeah meter company (http://www.hialeahmeter.com). Equipment costs for an ANSI C12 compliant meter and a meter box are reported at around $50 retail. There would likely be additional costs for hiring an electrician to install the meter and any unforeseen equipment needs. SRECTrade does not have expertise in the technical and permitting requirements for meter installations, so we would advise first contacting a technical professional.

If you have questions about how to report your readings, please feel free to call us at (877) 466-4606 or email us at customerservice@srectrade.com

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – October 2012

Posted November 12th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: October 2012

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

A more detailed analysis of supply, demand and price trends in the SREC markets can be found in the SREC Market Monitor, a joint-venture between SRECTrade and Greentech Media’s GTM Research.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

Overview of PJM Eligible Systems

As of November 12, 2012 there were 29,303 solar PV and 519 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these, 189 (0.63%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater. Nineteen of these projects have a nameplate capacity of 5 MW or greater, up from 18 projects in the last analysis. New Jersey continues to host most of the larger scale facilities, claiming home to 68% of the projects, 13 of 19 facilities, that are equal to or greater than 5 MW. The three largest projects continue to be a 25.1 MW PSE&G utility pole mount project located in NJ, a 16.1 MW Mount St. Mary’s project in MD, and a 12.5 MW project located in NJ.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of November 13, 2012, there were 3,794 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 3,777 operational and 17 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 154.9 MW, 137.7 of which is operational and 17.3 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 44,956 Q1 and Q2 2012 SRECs have been issued for the year to date. Additionally, 47,361 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 4 months covering July-October 2012.

How to Interpret This Table

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 needed approximately 496.7 MW online for the entire 2013 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2013 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 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.

 

November 2012 SREC Auction Results

Posted November 9th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade’s November 2012 SREC Auction closed last week. Below are the clearing prices by vintage across the markets covered in the auction.

November SREC Prices Energy Year Ending
State 2011 2012 2013*
Delaware
Maryland $130.00
Massachusetts $199.00
New Jersey $70.01 $70.00
Ohio In-State
Ohio Out-of-State
Pennsylvania $15.00 $8.99
Washington, DC $251.00 $300.00

Notes:
*Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania operate on a June-May energy year.
Green text represents a price increase over the last auction clearing price for that vintage, red text represents a decrease.
“-” reflects no sale, which would result if there were no SRECs available for sale in that vintage or there were no matching bids and offers to determine a clearing price.

For detailed analysis of SREC market prices and trends please subscribe to the SREC Market Monitor, a joint publication of Greentech Media’s GTM Research and SRECTrade.

State Market Observations:

Delaware: No DE SRECs transacted in the November auction.  The last auction price for DE2012 SRECs was $40.00 in the September 2012 auction. Most demand for DE SRECs will be through the DE SEU SREC Procurement Program solicitations. More information about these solicitations can be found at srecdelaware.com.

Maryland: MD2012 SRECs continue to decline in price, trading at $130/SREC. The 2012 market is expected to be oversupplied. More than 60,000 MD2012 SRECs, ~90% of this year’s requirement, have been issued through September generation. A portion of the 2012 oversupply is driven by a 20 MW project in Hagerstown, MD and a 16.1 MW project at Mount St. Mary’s University. There have been rumors that some of the SRECs from the Mount St. Mary’s project will be withheld from the market, but no official statement has been made public. The market is expecting this volume to impact supply.

Massachusetts: MA2012 SRECs continue to trade around $200/SREC. SREC issuance volumes through Q2 2012 and Q3 2012 MWhs reported to the MA CEC demonstrate that 2012’s requirements have been met. The market will likely be oversupplied by approximately 50% of this year’s compliance obligation. Many sellers remain confident they will be able to utilize the DOER’s solar credit clearinghouse auction if they are unable to sell their SRECs prior to the close of the trading year.

New Jersey: NJ2012 SRECs traded up $5/SREC, while the NJ2013 vintage remained flat at $70/SREC. December 1 is the final deadline for Load Serving Entities to complete their 2012 compliance requirements. SREC volumes issued through September, plus the oversupply from 2012, have surpassed the 2013 compliance obligation.

Ohio: OH Sited and OH Adjacent markets did not trade in the November 2012 auction. Both markets are oversupplied. It appears that most demand for OH Sited SRECs has been fulfilled through long term agreements with large utility scale projects or through long term RFPs with the state’s regulated utilities. Given the current market, it is likely there will be minimal demand for the remaining part of the 2012 compliance year.

Pennsylvania: Both PA2012 and PA2013 SRECs traded down from $17 to $15 and $20 to $8.99, respectively. The lack of demand for the 2013 vintage caused the significant decline. SREC oversupply continues to impact PA’s market. 

Washington, DC: The 2012 vintage increased from $290 to $300/SREC. New installations continue to come online slowly as the geography of the District is challenging for developers. The 2012 market is likely under supplied given the estimated requirements for the 2012 compliance year.

For historical auction pricing please see this link. The next SRECTrade auction closes on Monday, December 3rd at 5 p.m. ET and will cover MA and PJM Solar RECs. Click here to sign in and place an order.