Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificates’

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MASSACHUSETTS SOLAR GENERATORS

Posted August 16th, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The Massachusetts DOER has revised their application schedule by moving up the deadlines for generation eligibility. The new schedule states that in order for systems generating electricity prior to June 30th (Q2) to get SREC credit for that generation, their applications must have been submitted by August 15th, though there is expected to be some leniency around this first deadline. We strongly urge all unregistered MA customers to submit their EasyREC applications AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (i.e. the next few days) if their systems were generating prior to June 30th. Future deadlines are listed below.

Q2 generation (systems online before June 30th): must apply by 8/15/11

Q3 generation (system online before September 30th): must apply by 11/15/11

Q4 generation (system online before December 31st): must apply by 2/15/12

Please email your completed MA EasyREC application to easyrec@srectrade.com or fax to (732) 453-0065.

MA DOER Seeks to Set Fixed SACP Schedule

Posted August 3rd, 2011 by SRECTrade.

On August 2, 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) proposed an amendment to the Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP) schedule for the MA SREC program. Feedback from market participants including project developers, financing parties, and retail electricity suppliers indicated the current SACP structure creates uncertainty around future SREC valuation. Under the existing structure, the DOER has the ability to reduce the SACP on a yearly basis by up to 10% of the current value. The amended schedule seeks to provide more certainty for expected future prices while assisting project financing and negotiations for long-term SREC contracts.

The proposal establishes a 10-year schedule for the SACP that would maintain the current rate of $550/SREC through compliance year 2013, then decrease 5% each following year. The proposal also requires the schedule to be updated on a yearly basis to include a price for the 10th year of the schedule. For example, the 2022 price will be added to the schedule no later than January 31, 2012. The table below demonstrates the proposed schedule.

MA SACP Schedule 8_2_11

Prior to implementation, the proposed schedule is to go through a comment process. The comment period is currently open through August 15, 2011. Once all comments are collected, the DOER will review and begin the necessary process to amend the existing Solar Carve-Out provisions.

MA DOER Updates Retroactive SREC Rules

Posted June 1st, 2011 by SRECTrade.

The DOER announced today that they will no longer be awarding retroactive credit for SRECs from generation prior to the current SREC generation period.

In simplified form, this change means that installers and system owners should get their EasyREC paperwork in as soon as their system is interconnected to the electric grid. By submitting immediately, the the DOER and MassCEC will have ample time to approve the system. Even for systems that go online at the end of Q1 (i.e. March 20th), the state will then have a full 3 months to get the system certified for Q1 SRECs on July 15th.

If a system was interconnected in Q1 but is not certified in DOER by July, then it’s first chance to create SRECs will be October 15th. On that date, DOER will only create Q2 SRECs, and will ignore any Q1 SRECs that would have been generated for the system on July 15th.

All recent applications to SRECTrade’s EasyREC service have already been submitted to DOER on the customer’s behalf, and thus are not going to be affected by this change. Feel free to follow up with us, though, if you would like to double-check your status.

If your system went online before March 31, 2011 and you have not yet submitted your application, go to our EasyREC page and fill out the forms as soon as possible!

Massachusetts DOER Raises Solar Requirement for 2011

Posted June 17th, 2010 by SRECTrade.

The Massachusetts DOER made its final changes pertaining to the implementation of the solar carve-out program in the state’s RPS class I revised regulation. Most noteworthy of the changes, the DOER increased the solar requirement for the 2011 energy year to 69MW, or a total of 78,577 MWh. The increase in the solar requirement is a welcome development for SREC markets in Massachusetts, coming on the heels of the TransCanada legislation, which reduced the solar requirement for Massachusetts (more information on the TransCanada legislation here). This is a good indication that the state has levers it can pull to ensure the state supports a thriving SREC market, providing the market with some stability.

This should serve to counterbalance the change prompted by the TransCanada settlement that exempts certain buyers from the solar carve-out.

To see the all the changes made to the legislation see the RPS Class I Revised Regulation with Tracked Changes.


Massachusetts SREC Market

Posted December 16th, 2009 by SRECTrade.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) recently announced the implementation of a solar carve out as part of the state’s renewable portfolio standard.  The carve-out establishes a requirement of 25 MW of solar electricity for 2010 and a solar alternative compliance payment (SACP) of $600.  SRECTrade will begin hosting SREC auctions in Massachusetts in 2010.  Solar generators may begin registering their facilities with SRECTrade as long as they meet the criteria for eligibility in Massachusetts:

– Solar photovoltaic project located in Massachusetts
– Under 2MW in capacity
– Installed on or after January 1, 2008
– Has not received funding from Commonwealth Solar I
– Has not received substantial support from ARRA-related federal stimulus funds

Go to the Massachusetts Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Program page for more details.