Create account Log in

New Jersey Capacity Update – Solar Continues to Push Forward

Posted November 28th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

NJ2012 Capacity Update

The New Jersey Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) published an updated installed solar projects list as of September 30, 2011. According to the NJ OCE, as of 9/30/11 the Garden State installed 447.7 MW of solar capacity. This equates to more than 20 MW added in the month of September, putting the state at an average of 27.1 MW per month and a total of 108.2 MW installed for the 2012 compliance year to date. NJ OCE estimates for October 2012 expect 44 MW of additional capacity to be installed, bringing total installed capacity to over 491 MW.

Although the NJ OCE reports 447.7 MW installed as of September 30, 2011, PJM GATS currently shows 431.2 MW registered to produce SRECs as of 11/26/11. It is common to see a difference in registered projects between the NJ OCE and PJM GATS reported figures as there is typically a delay from when systems are interconnected and installed to when they receive their NJ state certification number and become registered in GATS.

New Jersey’s 2012 reporting year solar requirement is currently set at 442,000 MWhs. Assuming a production factor 1.2 MWh per installed kW per year, the state needs approximately 370 MW operational all year long. As of 11/26/11, GATS has reported 163,507 SRECs issued through September 2011 generation. October 2011 generation will be issued on November 30, 2011. Given the volume issued through September 2011, approximately 37% of the required volume has been generated. This leaves a need of approximately 278,500 SRECs to meet the 442,000 MWh RY2012 target.

Monthly Capacity Analysis_v2-1

Assuming all NJ solar facilities produce at a 1.2 MWh production factor per kW per year, and all systems noted as installed on the NJ OCE installed project list received generation credit from their first full month of operation, the existing installed capacity of 447.7 MW will produce approximately 338,400* SRECs between October 2011 and May 2012. This additional generation will bring the NJ2012 SREC issuance total to approximately 501,900 SRECs, an excess of 60,000 MWhs. Assuming the October 2012 estimates are accurate, the additional of 44 MW in October creates additional oversupply, equating to a forecast of almost 530,600* NJ2012 SRECs minted and an excess of 88,600 MWh. Both of these scenarios only account for the existing installed capacity through September 2011 and estimates through October 2011. Additional supply will continue to come online through the remaining months of NJ2012, with more capacity anticipated to be pushed through at the end of the 2011 calendar year due to the expected expiration of the federal grant incentive. The additional supply coming online throughout the remaining months of NJ2012 will further impact the long SREC market NJ is facing and have an effect on the 2013 market.

NJ2013 SREC Market

As it currently stands, the NJ2013 (June 2012 – May 2013) Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires 596,000 MWhs of solar generation. This Solar REC requirement equals approximately 496.7 MW to be operational all year long, assuming the NJ2013 requirements are met only using 2013 vintage SRECs. Given the current market, and expected oversupply, the NJ2013 market will start off the year with between 60,000 – 88,600 MWhs already issued and eligible to meet the 2013 requirements. Note, this assumes the September figures and October estimates provided by the NJ OCE are accurate and do not take into consideration any additional capacity to be installed in the remaining months of the 2012 compliance period.

Assembly Bill 4226

Introduced on November 10, 2011, Assembly Bill 4226, sponsored by Assemblyman Upendra Chivakula (District 17), and Assemblyman Daniel Benson (District 14), would implement changes to the current solar RPS requirements. Under the current RPS, the SREC requirements are subject to a 20% increase per year through 2027 should the state meet or exceed its solar requirements three years in a row, while also experiencing a decline in SREC pricing in those same three consecutive periods. The final paragraph of the current format of 4226, states that the 3 year time period would be reduced to 1 year and be applied beginning in the 2013 compliance period.

Should this bill be signed into law, the 20% increase would take effect in 2013. Currently, RY2013 has a requirement of 596,000 MWhs. A 20% increase would adjust the 2013 requirement to 715,200 MWh; equal to an additional 119,200 SRECs required or approximately 99.3 MW operational all year long.

Other solar trade and advocacy groups have actively suggested alternative proposals to the legislation, some of which include a revised SREC requirement schedule as well as a fixed SACP schedule through 2027. We will continue to keep a close eye on the legislative process and provide updates as more information is known and how it will impact RY2013 and future NJ compliance periods.

*This figure uses a PVWatts calculation assuming 1.2 MWh/kW/Year and takes into consideration seasonality for the remaining months left in the compliance period.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in New Jersey, SREC Markets |

PSEIA: HB1580 creates thousands of jobs for less than half a penny a day

Posted November 23rd, 2011 by SRECTrade.

On November 16th, 2011, the Pennsylvania Solar Energy Industries Association (PASEIA) released its Ratepayer Cost Analysis regarding PA House Bill #1580. HB1580 was introduced on October 3rd, 2011 by Rep. Chris Ross, and includes 109 co-sponsors as of November 10th, 2011.

The Bill was introduced to address the recent collapse of the PA SREC market by accelerating the solar share requirement from 2012 through 2015. While the solar share requirements from 2012 through 2015 have been accelerated, the solar share requirements in 2016 through 2018 remains the same as SREC prices are expected to have stabilized by then regardless of the present situation. HB1580 will also close the solar market in Pennsylvania to out-of-state systems, thus limiting the supply of SRECs available which will drive up their value. While undoubtedly a blessing for the solar industry within Pennsylvania, some concerns have been raised regarding the impact this program will have on ratepayers. The Ratepayer Cost Analysis aims to address these issues.

Here is the breakdown of HB1580, using figures derived from the Cost Impact Report. The introduction of HB1580 imposes an additional $113,315,417 distributed amongst all residential and commercial power users in Pennsylvania.

Current Scenario
Reporting Year Solar Share SRECs SREC Price* Cost
2012 – 2013 0.0510% 75,189 $50 $3,759,453
2013 – 2014 0.0840% 123,012 $50 $6,250,621
2014 – 2015 0.1440% 216,338 $50 $10,816,879
2015 – 2016 0.2500% 379,150 $70 $26,540,513
2016 – 2017 0.2933% 449,047 $80 $35,923,723
2017 – 2018 0.3400% 525,500 $85 $44,667,471
Total – 1,770,235 – $127,958,661

Proposed Scenario (HB1850)
Reporting Year Solar Share SRECs SREC Price* Cost Increment
2012 – 2013 0.1500% 221,144 $190 $42,017,420 $38,257,967
2013 – 2014 0.1700% 253,001 $150 $37,950,200 $31,699,579
2014 – 2015 0.2040% 306,478 $125 $38,309,780 $27,492,901
2015 – 2016 0.2500% 379,150 $100 $37,915,019 $11,374,506
2016 – 2017 0.2933% 449,047 $90 $40,414,188 $4,490,465
2017 – 2018 0.3400% 525,500 $85 $44,667,471 $0
Total – 2,134,320 – $241,274,078 $113,315,417

* SREC price is based on aggregator feedback, as well as average weighted PA SREC prices in GATS

The cost imposed on each ratepayer is than calculated based on an estimated use of 10,716kWh/yr for residential and 150,000kWh/yr for commercial usage.

Reporting Year Estimated Elect Sales Estimated Increased Cost

Cost Increase per kWh

 Estimated Increased Residential Cost Estimated Increased Commercial Cost
Annual Monthly Annual Monthly
2013 147,429,544 $38,257,967 $0.0002595 $2.78 $0.23 $38.93 $3.24
2014 148,824,315 $31,699,579 $0.0002130 $2.28 $0.19 $31.95 $2.66
2015 150,234,430 $27,492,901 $0.0001830 $1.96 $0.16 $27.45 $2.29
2016 151,660,076 $11,374,506 $0.0000750 $0.80 $0.07 $11.25 $0.94
2017 153,101,443 $4,490,465 $0.0000293 $0.31 $0.03 $4.40 $0.37
2018 154,558,725 $0 $0 – – – –
Total $113,315,417 – $8.14 $0.68 $113.97 $9.50
Average – $0.0001520 $1.63 $0.14 $22.79 $1.90

As the table shows, the residential bill on average increases by less than 14 cents over five years and under $2 for commercial customers with an assumed annual electric usage of 150,000kWh/yr. This amounts to less than half a penny a day for residential owners. In addition, these are pre-tax costs, so for-profit commercial and industrial customers will pay less than these estimates based on their effective tax rates..

For more information, please contact:
Ron Celentano
PASEIA – President
CelentanoR@aol.com

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Pennsylvania, SREC Markets, State RPS |

Massachusetts SREC Timeline

Posted November 21st, 2011 by SRECTrade.

To help with cash flow planning, it is important to understand the timeline inherent with the Massachusetts SREC program. Customers are often surprised to learn that SRECs are created by the state several months after they are produced. Here is a chart outlining when SRECs are created in Massachusetts.

Production Quarter

In Massachusetts SRECs are created once a quarter on a quarter delay. This means that a system that was installed in say, July 2010, will sell its first SRECs in January. Why the long delay? This is a function of the way the program has been implemented in Massachusetts. The solar system owners must first report solar production to the Production Tracking System (PTS). The PTS is part of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and is in charge of collecting all renewable energy production data. At the end of each quarter all of the solar production information is submitted to the NEPOOL-GIS, a third-party organization that is in charge of the software used to register and track SRECs. The NEPOOL-GIS creates SRECs at the end of the new quarter based on the previous quarter’s production data.

SRECTrade holds a Massachusetts specific auction on the day that the SRECs get created or the first business day that they are available. For example, January 15th 2012 falls on a Sunday, so the auction will be held on Monday, January 16th 2012.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Massachusetts |

Delaware PSC Approves SREC Procurement Pilot Program

Posted November 15th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The Delaware Public Service Commission approved the SREC Procurement Pilot Program on November 8th, 2011. This program will allow qualified solar energy system owners to sell their SRECs at a fixed price for the next 20 years.

The program will only be open to certain DE solar owners, for example, eligible facility owners must have received approval of their “Accepted Completed Solar System Interconnection Application” on or after December 1st 2010. Another requirement stipulates that the facility must not have received supplemental funding from a public source other than grants associated with the Delaware Green Energy Program “GEP”.

The number of SRECs to be procured is tiered according to the system size from which they are obtained. They will also be priced accordingly. Based on the requirements for June 2011 through May 2012, the numbers and price are

Tier Size (kW) Number of SRECs Percentage of Total SRECs Price, 1st 10 years Price, next 10 years
1 <50 2972 13.4% $260 base, $235 alt+ $50
2a 50 – 250 2,000 9.1% $240 base, $175 alt+ $50
2b 250 – 500 2,000 9.1% Lowest Bid Price* $50
3 500 – 2,000 4,500 20.4% Lowest Bid Price* $50
4 >2,000 10,600 48% Lowest Bid Price* $50
+Alternative pricing for projects that received a GEP grant before December 10 2010.
* Prices for tiers 2b, 3 and 4 will be decided by competitive bidding amongst the applicants.

In the event of oversubscription for facilities in Tier 1 and 2A, systems will be eliminated via lottery, starting with systems enrolled in the equipment or workforce bonus program.

Payments will be made quarterly for Tier 1 and monthly for Tiers 2 and 3. The energy production must be measured by at least a standard, utility grade meter and online monitoring for Tier 1 systems, and a revenue grade meter with online monitoring for Tiers 2 and 3.

Facilities are obliged to deliver the number of SRECs as estimated for their system size when they apply. The Sustainable Energy Utility is obliged to purchase up to 110% of the estimated SRECs, but may choose not to purchase any additional surplus SRECs.

This program will likely commence this winter or spring, and SRECTrade will be supporting this program for all of our installers and their customers. Look out for a future email regarding the SREC Pilot Program.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Delaware, SREC Markets, SREC Pricing |

FirstEnergy Closes SREC and REC RFP

Posted November 15th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities announced the close of its Request for Proposal (RFP) for 10 year SREC and REC contracts. The utility issued the RFP seeking 5,000 Solar Renewable Energy Credits and 20,000 Renewable Energy Credits per year for the compliance periods covering 2011-2020.

The utility noted they were able to successfully fill the requested volumes. The contracted supply will allow FirstEnergy to meet its 2011 RPS requirements including the SRECs not retired under their 2010 compliance obligations. The RFP received submissions from 28 qualified participants offering more than two times the requested SREC volumes and four times the requested REC volumes. Contract pricing was not disclosed.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Ohio, SREC Markets |

Pennsylvania SREC Bill’s Hearing Offers PA Citizens An Opportunity To Show Support

Posted November 14th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The much discussed PA Solar Jobs Bill (HB 1580) goes up for review in the PA House Consumer Affairs Committee on Thursday, 11/17/2011 (the hearing date was rescheduled after this post was originally published to Wednesday, December 8th at 10 am)*. This is a critical juncture for the bill. In order for HB 1580 to make it out to the PA State House of Representatives for general vote, it must first pass out of the House Consumer Affairs Committee. The Committee is chaired by Rep. Bob Godshall of the 53rd District. PennFuture, a grassroots Pennsylvania advocacy group, has put together an e-petition for contacting members of the House Consumer Affairs Committee and voicing support for HB 1580.

For more information on the state of the PA SREC market click here. For historic PA SREC pricing click here.

If you are a Pennsylvania resident and you’d like to show your support for HB 1580 click here.

*This announcement was made on 11/16/2011 by Rep. Godshall’s office.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Pennsylvania, SREC Markets |

Rhode Island Passes Renewable Energy Law

Posted November 14th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The Ocean State took a step forward in promoting solar energy recently as Rhode Island Governor Lincoln D. Chafee signed §723 Sub A into law on June 29, 2011 to encourage the generation and use of renewable energy in the state.

The legislation requires at least 40 MWs worth of distributed generation projects in the small New England state by the end of 2014. The contracting shall be spread over 4 years based on annual targets set by the Board. Though the specific rules are still being sorted out, the program should proceed quickly as the first 5 MW are due to be contracted by the end of this year.

(1) By Dec 30, 2011, minimum 5 MW;
(2) By Dec 30, 2012, minimum aggregate of 20 MW;
(3) By Dec 30, 2013, minimum aggregate of 30 MW;
(4) By Dec 30, 2014, minimum aggregate of 40 MW.

The Board will recommend to the Commission the standard contract ceiling price by October 15 each year and it will be announced by December 15. The ceiling price for each technology should allow a private owner to receive a reasonable rate of return, based on recent reported and forecast information on the cost of capital and the cost of generation equipment. The reasonable rate of return shall include applicable state or federal incentives including but not limited to tax incentives.

This program represents the first statewide Feed-In Tariff law passed in the U.S. The implementation will be a key factor in how this program will ultimately impact the state. A target of 40 MW over 4 years is not very large, especially considering that a single wind turbine can be larger than 5 MW. All it would take is eight 5MW wind turbines (not wind farms; individual turbines!). Therefore, if Rhode Island has any ambition of developing a lasting industry, it is important that the program is designed in a way that provides access to a diverse group of participants rather than a few “winners” selected by the state and the utility companies.

To that effect, the legislation mandates that by Dec 31, 2012, there shall be at least 4 technology classes and of which, 2 shall be for solar generation technologies. A standard contract term is for 15 years. Besides distributed generation facilities having to be located within the Utility Company’s load zone, small projects shall have a nameplate capacity no larger than 500 kw for solar, 1.5 MW for wind and no more than 1 MW for other renewable energy. Large distributed generation projects may not exceed 5 MW and a project developer will not be allowed to segment a project into smaller sized projects in order to fall under the “small” definition. As long as electric distribution companies fulfill the required technology classes, they are free to mix and match small and large projects to achieve their goals.

Each electric distribution company shall conduct at least 3 standard contract enrollments during each program year except for 2011 where only 1 is required. During the two week enrollment period, the electric distribution company is required to receive standard short-form applications requesting standard contracts for distributed generation energy projects. Contracts for small distributed generation projects are awarded on a first-come first-serve basis. Contracts for large distributed generation projects will be awarded based on the lowest proposed prices received. Eligible systems that are net-metered may apply to sell excess output.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Rhode Island |

November 2011 SREC Auction Results

Posted November 1st, 2011 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade’s November 2011 SREC Auction has completed. Below are the clearing prices at which SRECs traded this month.

November SREC Prices Energy Year Ending
State 2010 2011 2012*
Delaware – – $88.99
Maryland In-State $174.98 $200.00
Maryland Out-of-State – –
Massachusetts – $535.00**
New Jersey – $670.00 $225.00
Ohio In-State – $380.00
Ohio Out-of-State – $55.00
Pennsylvania – $10.00 –
Washington, DC $119.00 $150.00

Notes:
*Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania operate on a June-May energy year.
**Massachusetts Q2 auction occurred on October 17th
Green text represents a price improvement over October, red text represents a decrease.
“-” reflects no sale, which would result if there were no matching bids and offers that cleared for a sale in the auction.

State Market Observations:

Delaware (Supply: 22.7 MW | Demand: 19.5 MW): Legislation increasing the SREC requirement went into effect this past June but the market has yet to pick up in response. Stakeholders in DE continue to work to wards a long-term SREC contract solicitation program for new facilities. This program should be approved within the next month. Meanwhile, the SREC market will likely pick up at the end of the energy year when electricity suppliers are more active.

Maryland (Supply: 30.8 MW | Demand: 26.9 MW): SRECs continue to hover around $200. The state seems on a good pace to maintain a balanced supply relative to demand. As 2011 comes to an end, a shortage of SRECs in the state, if any, will be reflected by an increase in prices at the end of the trading period in the first quarter of 2012. Out-of-state SRECs continue to be a non-factor in Maryland.

Massachusetts (Supply: 27.1 MW | Demand: 55.7 MW): Mass SREC values rose to $535 in the Q2 2011 sale on October 18th. This trend should continue as the SREC shortage becomes more apparent. The next big quarterly MA SREC auction will close on Monday January 16th. In the meantime, solar owners can offer unsold SRECs in our regular monthly auctions.

New Jersey (Supply: 448 MW | Demand: 368 MW): The 2012 market continues to rebound up to $225 from $205 last month. As more buyers become active in the 2012 market, prices should continue to correct, though the oversupply continues to grow as 18 more megawatts were added in September.

Ohio (Supply: 82.0 MW | Demand: 37.7 MW) : In-State SRECs demand dropped slightly. Activity in the out-of-state SREC market increased this month.

Pennsylvania (Supply: 146.4 MW | Demand 40.4 MW): HB 1508 was recently introduced to address the state’s SREC market. This marks the beginning of a long process to rescue the PA SREC market. Until then, SRECs will continue to bottom out.

Washington, DC (Supply: 21.4 MW | Demand: 41.9 MW): Prices continue to increase as new legislation closing the DC market borders and increasing requirements take effect on the market.

For historical pricing please see this link. The order period for the December auction will close on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 5:00 p.m Eastern. For more information, please visit www.srectrade.com.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in SREC Markets, SREC Pricing |

Pennsylvania Legislative Update: HB 1580 Still in Committee and In Need of Support

Posted October 28th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

Over 90 members of the Pennsylvania solar industry lobbied Pennsylvania legislators on Monday, 10/28/11 to voice their support HB 1580 an SREC bill. The effort was part of an official “Pennsylvania Solar Advocacy Day” event put on by PennFuture, Solar Alliance, Vote Solar, PASEIA and others. By the end of the day more than 108 members of the Pennsylvania House (of a required 100) had offered to sponsor the legislation should it make it out of committee.

House Bill 1580 (sponsored by Rep. Chris Ross, R-Chester) proposes to move the total requirement of SRECs forward by three years to increase the number of SRECs Load Serving Entities (utility-scale “dirty” electricity producers) must purchase. The rapid implementation of Pennsylvania SREC eligible facilities over the last year has led to an SREC over-supply of more than double the amount of SRECs needed by utility-scale electricity producers. This over-supply is responsible for low SREC pricing in Pennsylvania.

SREC markets are driven by the fundamentals of supply and demand. However in Pennsylvania demand (the amount of SRECs required for a given year) is significantly lower than the number of SRECs available. The Pennsylvania SREC market is designed in such a way that every year there is a set goal for amount of power that comes from renewable energy sources and any adjustment to the yearly goal requires legislative action.

In order for the bill to move forward it needs the support of Rep. Bob Godshall, Chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee for Committee vote. PennFuture has asked the Pennsylvania solar community to write Rep. Godshall to show their support of the bill. However, even if the bill gets out of Committee in its current form it still needs to pass the House and Senate.  With 108 state Representatives co-signing the bill it is expected to pass the House, but it’s unclear how it will fair if it reaches the Senate.

Stay tuned for more HB 1580 Updates.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Pennsylvania |

Brad Bowery to Speak at PV Power Generation Mid-West & East Conference

Posted October 28th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The PV Power Generation, Mid-West & East conference will be held from 8th – 9th November 2011, at the Marriott in Downtown New York. This event promises to be an in-depth study of large scale solar power generation in the Mid-West and East. Local utilities, state regulators, grid operators and land and building operators will be attending, and it will be a vital meeting point for those who wish to expand their operations in these regions.

Key topics influencing the solar market in the Mid-West and East to be covered includes

  • REC Markets
  • Legislative updates
  • Site Sourcing
  • Grid connection issues

SRECTrade CEO Brad Bowery will be speaking at the conference and will discuss several key issues affecting SREC markets such as

  • The current landscape of supply and demand in SREC markets
  • Key benefits of an in-state SREC market
  • Variations of SREC program in each state, and how to evaluate them
  • Essential ingredients for creating a successful SREC market
  • How solar can compete with other renewable technologies in the green space
  • The intricacies of Solar Alternative Compliance Payments(SACP) in each state
  • Obtaining a long term SREC contract

View the conference agenda to find out more, and register here.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in SREC Markets |

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Clients
Markets
About
Legal

© 2024 SRECTrade, Inc. All rights reserved.