Archive for October, 2013

SRECTrade Markets Report: September 2013

Posted October 14th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: September 2013

The following post is a monthly update outlining the megawatts of solar capacity certified to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets that SRECTrade serves. All PJM data is based on the information available in PJM GATS as of the date noted. All MA data is based on the information provided by the DOER as of the date noted. This analysis does not include projects that are not yet registered and certified with the entities noted herein.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

Capacity_September2013 copy

Overview of PJM Eligible Systems

As of October 9, 2013 there were 38,219 solar PV and 781 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these, 254 (0.65%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, but account for 42.74% of the overall capacity registered. Twenty-seven of these projects have a nameplate capacity of 5 MW or greater (unchanged from the last several months). New Jersey continues to host most of the larger scale facilities, claiming home to 17 of the 27 facilities, that are equal to or greater than 5 MW. Also unchanged for several months, the three largest projects are a 29.1 MW FirstSolar project in MD, a 25.1 MW PSE&G utility pole mount project located in NJ, and the 16.1 MW Mount St. Mary’s project in MD.

NJ Office of Clean Energy Estimated Installed Capacity Through 9/30/13: On October 9, 2013, the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy (OCE) announced total installed solar capacity reached 1,142.3 MW; an increase of approximately 8.0 MW over June’s total capacity.*

*This 8.0 MW month over month increase does not take in to consideration two projects totaling 26.7 MW that the OCE retroactively approved. In effect the overall approved capacity increased by 8.0 MW plus the 26.7 MW retroactive addition.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of September 30, 2013, there were 8,311 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 8,024 operational and 287 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 688 MW; 277.8 MW of which is operational and 410.3 MW is not operational under the current SREC 1 program.

Not operational, qualified projects over 100 kW in size must demonstrate at least 50% completion by 12/31/2013 in order to remain qualified. Note, that these totals should adjust as projects lower than 100 kW in capacity become qualified throughout the year. Projects lower than 100 kW must be interconnected by the effective date of an SREC 2 program or June 30, 2014, whichever is earlier. Whereas projects greater 100 kW in capacity must have submitted application paperwork and met certain requirements by July 5, 2013. For more information refer to our blog posts covering the current SREC program.

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 “Retail Sales of Electricity by State by Provider” updated 10/1/12. 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.

 

Washington, DC Update: Community Net Metering Bill Passed by DC Council

Posted October 11th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

The D.C. Council voted to pass Community Solar legislation on October 1, 2013. First introduced on January 8, 2013  the Community Renewable Energy Act of 2013 (CREA),  promises to lower the barrier for going solar and diversify solar market participants by allowing DC ratepayers to subscribe to power from solar facilities that are not located on their property using Virtual Net Metering. Similar legislation has been passed in states like Maine, California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Colorado. The bill is expected to be signed by the Mayor later this month and will become effective sometime thereafter.

How this might impact Washington, DC SRECs

DC is currently the only under-supplied SREC market. Approximately 288 MW of solar capacity is required by 2023. The 2013 RPS requirement is approximately 49 MW of which only 28 MW have been registered to date in GATS. Currently DC SREC prices are the highest of any SREC market at $480/SREC in recent transactions. And yet, despite the very rich SREC incentive in the District, build rates have been subdued. By opening up the market to more participants it’s possible that build rates and SREC availability will increase at a faster rate, impacting SREC pricing.

Here’s what’s in the Community Renewable Energy Act of 2013

  • Community Energy Generating Facilities cannot be larger than 5 MW in capacity
  • There can be as few as 2 subscribers to the power produced from eligible facilities
  • Subscriptions cannot be for more than 120% of the subscriber’s 12 month electricity usage
  • Subscriber accounts can only be adjusted once a month
  • Utilities (Pepco) may be able to require all subscribers to be on the same billing cycle
  • The owner(s) of the Community Energy Generating Facility owns the rights to SRECs produced from the power
  • Power production will be tracked by a production meter installed by the Community Energy Generating Facility owner
  • In months where subscribers receive credit for more power than they consume the excess power will be credited towards the next month’s electric bill
  • Excess power credits at the end of the annual cycle (ends in April of each year) will be lost and reallocated to rate payers eligible for the District’s Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
  • Requires adoption of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) interconnection standards within 6 months of the bill’s passage.
  • The District Department of Energy and the District Sustainable Energy Utility are required to develop a proposal within 6 months for an equitable and creative program for financing community net metering projects.

 

MA Department of Energy Resources Update 9/27/13

Posted October 7th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) sent out an email update on Friday, 9/27/13, covering the management of the SREC I program and the status of the DOER proprosal for an SREC II program. The email can be found here.

SREC I Project Deadline Extension Guidelines Drafted

Less than or Equal to 100 KW

Facilities 100 kW or smaller that have submitted a Statement of Qualification application must receive authorization to interconnect by the “effective date of a new solar carve-out program established by the Department, or by June 30, 2014,  whichever is earlier.”*

*We had previously stated that systems 100 kW and smaller must be fully interconnected by December 31, 2013 in order to participate in the SREC I program.

Greater than 100 kW

Facilities greater than 100 kW may be installed no later than June 30, 2014 as long as they are demonstrably 50% complete by December 31, 2013.

The DOER is accepting comments on the draft guidelines through Monday, 10/7/2013.  Comments may be sent to doer.srec@state.ma.us with the “Solar Construction Guideline Comments” in the Subject field. The DOER’s draft guidelines can be found here.

SREC II Technical Session

The DOER will hold a technical session on Monday, 10/7/2013 to discuss the SREC II proposal with a team of consultants that the DOER has employed to “conduct studies in support of the SREC II program design.” This team of consultants is charged with creating five reports in support of an SREC II program. Two of the five reports are published and available here.

Technical Session Details:

Monday, 10/7/2013 from 1-3 pm
Gardner Auditorium, Massachusetts State House
Boston, MA
 

2012 Solar Credit Clearinghouse “Last Chance Auction” SREC Purchase Results

Only three SRECs of the 38,863 SRECs deposited in the 2012 Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA) were purchased during the auction. Following the auction the DOER offered to purchase all available 2012 vintage SRECs for $285/SREC. The DOER announced that they purchased 36,437 SRECs, leaving 2,426 MA2012 SRECs in the market.