Archive for December, 2014

SRECTrade Markets Report: November 2014

Posted December 19th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

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.

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Overview of PJM Eligible Systems Through 12/16/2014

There are 52,951 facilities registered in GATS as of 12/16/2014. See below for a more detailed breakdown.

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There are 299 projects over 1 MW in capacity (up two from October), representing 877.1 MW or 43.5% of the qualified capacity. The largest projects in PJM are concentrated in NJ and MD. There are 39 projects over 5 MW or larger. These make up 19.1% of all qualified capacity in PJM. The top 5 largest projects are listed below.

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NJ Office of Clean Energy Estimated Installed Capacity Through 11/30/14

On December 19, 2014, the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy (OCE) announced total installed solar capacity reached 1,373.4 MW through 11/30/14; an increase of approximately 7.7 MW over the total capacity reported through the end of October 2014. The average last six month build rate per month, according to the OCE data, is 12.6 MW. Note that this data does not directly tie to GATS registration data because of a lag between NJ Office of Clean Energy certifications and GATS registrations.

Overview of MA DOER SREC-I and SREC-II Eligible Systems

SREC-I Program

The Massachusetts SREC-I program was capped on June 30, 2014. As of 12/09/2014 the DOER reported that 46.5 MW of solar is still listed as Qualified but not operational. In total, 655.5 MW of capacity is listed as qualified, of which 608.9 MW is operational.

SREC-II Program

The SREC-II program opened on April 25, 2014. The program is broken in to Market Sectors. For a detailed overview of the regulations regarding SREC-II please visit here. As of 12/09/2014, 180.2 MW of capacity is currently qualified under the SREC-II program, but only 42.3 MW is operational.

How to Interpret The Capacity Table at the Top of this Post

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 11/8/13. 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 1,160 MWh in MA, generated per MW of installed capacity per year.

Massachusetts DOER Discusses Final Design to Bring Renewable Thermal into APS

Posted December 19th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On Tuesday, December 16th the DOER presented a draft of their final design for guidelines pertaining to the inclusion of renewable thermal technologies in the Massachusetts Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS). Per the statute, the DOER will be including technologies that generate useful thermal energy from sunlight, biomass, biogas, liquid biofuel or naturally occurring temperature differences in the ground, air, or water, and has been conducting a comprehensive stakeholder review prior to the formal rulemaking process next year.

While the regulations will likely not go into effect until Summer 2015, the current draft proposes to be retroactive, so that eligible systems installed from January 1, 2015 onwards could qualify for the APS. This is welcome news for renewable technologies such as Solar Hot Water systems, which are not currently included in the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) nor the APS.

Here we will highlight several aspects of the regulation that are especially important for Solar Hot Water installers and owners. Under the proposed draft, eligible solar thermal technologies must be:

– Active solar thermal technology using evacuated tubes or flat place collectors for space heating, domestic hot water, or process hot water.

In terms of the specific registration metering requirements, the draft designates a cutoff between “Small” and “Large” solar thermal systems at surface area of 660 square feet. Larger systems will likely be required to adhere to stringent metering and reporting standards, while small systems will be able to produce Alternative Energy Credits (AECs) based off of the projected output of their system.

In order to reduce the complexity of AEC sales for residential and small commercial owners that fall under the “Small” category of each of these renewable thermal technologies, the DOER is proposing a 10-year upfront strip of AECs in lieu of producing AECs over time. Non-emitting renewable thermal technologies, like Solar Hot Water, would also receive a multiplier on their credits in recognition of their environmental advantage and current higher levelized cost.

Currently the MA APS market is undersupplied, with credits trading in the range of $15-$20/AEC. SRECTrade will continue to follow these regulations closely and keep stakeholders informed on how we will be assisting system owners with AEC transaction and management services.

December 11, 2014 Massachusetts SREC Market Update Webinar Slides and Recording Available

Posted December 12th, 2014 by SRECTrade.

On December 11, 2014, SRECTrade hosted a webinar on the MA SREC market. For access to the slides please click here: SRECTrade 12/11/14 MA SREC Update. For access to a video recording of the webinar, click the image below.

This document and recording is protected by copyright laws and contains material proprietary to SRECTrade, Inc. It or any components may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of SRECTrade, Inc. The receipt or possession of this document does not convey any rights to reproduce, disclose, or distribute its contents, or to manufacture, use, or sell anything that it may describe, in whole or in part. If consent to use these materials is granted, a link to the current version of this document on the SRECTrade website must be included for reference.

December 2014 SREC Pricing Update and Auction Results

Posted December 3rd, 2014 by SRECTrade.

As of December 2, 2014, below is a summary of indicative pricing across the SREC markets SRECTrade covers (for a PDF copy click here). For December 2014 auction results, scroll down.

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Note: All pricing and notes included are indicative and subject to change. Please contact us for most current markets. If a market is not quoted herein, please contact us directly for further information. 

SRECTrade’s December 2014 SREC Auction closed on 12/2/2014. The clearing prices presented below are representative of transactions executed through the SRECTrade auction. This does not include over the counter spot and forward contract transactions completed through SRECTrade’s brokerage desk. For more information on our brokerage services for corporate clients please click here. Below are the clearing prices by vintage across the SRECs transacted in the auction.

Auction Prices SREC Vintage Year
State 2012 2013 2014 2015
Delaware N/A $55.00 $55.00 N/A
Maryland $140.00 $140.00 $143.50 N/A
Massachusetts SREC-I N/A N/A N/A N/A
New Jersey N/A $196.00 $196.00 $196.00
Ohio Sited N/A N/A $45.50 N/A
Ohio Adjacent N/A N/A $45.50 N/A
Pennsylvania N/A $31.00 $42.82 $45.50
Washington, DC N/A $475.00 $486.00 N/A

The next SRECTrade auction for the PJM SREC markets will close on Wednesday, January 7, 2014 at 5 p.m. ET.

This document is protected by copyright laws and contains material proprietary to SRECTrade, Inc. It or any components may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of SRECTrade, Inc. The receipt or possession of this document does not convey any rights to reproduce, disclose, or distribute its contents, or to manufacture, use, or sell anything that it may describe, in whole or in part. If consent to use these materials is granted, a link to the current version of this document on the SRECTrade website must be included for reference.

Massachusetts DOER Announces Updated SREC-I and II Requirements

Posted December 2nd, 2014 by SRECTrade.

Today, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (MA DOER) announced the estimated megawatt hour compliance exemptions for SREC-I and SREC-II. Results were derived from a survey of retail electric suppliers serving power in the state.

According to the survey, the expected impact on 2014 and 2015 SREC demand for the SREC-II program, due to exempt load, will be a 35% decrease (14.6k SRECs) for 2014 and a 19% decrease (31.0k SRECs) for 2015. Additionally a small portion of SRECs (25.3k) from the SREC-I program will be exempt in 2015, a 2.4% decrease. Any potential impact on requirements for 2016 onward have not yet been provided. The chart below demonstrates the SREC-II obligation decrease, original vs. estimate, in 2014 and 2015.

For the latest on MA SREC pricing click here: December 2014 SREC Price Update

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