Posts Tagged ‘Solar’

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – April 2012

Posted May 13th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: April 2012

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

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 24,784 solar PV and 316 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 147 (0.59%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 14 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of May 7, 2012, 28.0 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 28.0 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, the DE SREC Pilot Program solicitation recently closed its first solicitation. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 23,400 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of May 7, 2012, 45.6 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. The MD Senate recently passed legislation to pull forward the RPS requirements. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 10,200 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out of state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of May 7, 2012, 700.2 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 700.2 MW figure. As of March 31, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 730.3 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Additionally, estimates through April 2012 show almost 760 MW of total installed capacity. For additional information on the status of the NJ market and information on the expected legislation to adjust the Solar RPS see the following: New Jersey SREC Market Update May 2012. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 455,500 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs.

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of May 7, 2012, 46.8 MW of in-state capacity and 87.3 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of May 11, 2012, GATS issued approximately 9,940 in-state and 20,170 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of May 7, 2012, 203.1 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 144,900 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of May 7, 2012, 23.9 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of May 11, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,800 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of May 7, 2012, there were 1,807 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 1,775 operational and 32 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 72.2 MW, 59.5 of which is operational and 12.7 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 62,900 and 73,400 SRECs in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Through the Q4 2011 issuance period (4/15/12), 26,598 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, 20,421 MWh have been reported to the PTS during January – April 2012. Given the SRECs issued through Q4 2011, the 2011 compliance period is short by approximately 36,302. The next issuance period for Q1 2012 SRECs will be on July 15, 2012.

For additional analysis on the current state of the MA SREC market and an outlook on 2012 see the following post published on March 16, 2012: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based 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.

New Jersey SREC Update May 2012

Posted May 7th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

New Jersey SRECs recently traded at $115.16 per SREC in SRECTrade’s May 2012 auction. This follows the dramatic decline in prices that the New Jersey SREC market has experienced since the beginning of the 2012 energy year. Click here for historic data on SRECTrade’s New Jersey SREC market auction pricing.

What’s going on?

The New Jersey SREC market is oversupplied. The state’s  Solar Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) targets a fixed number of megawatt hours (MW-hrs) needed to be purchased by electricity suppliers each compliance period. A MW-hr is the equivalent of one SREC, so in NJ we discuss the SREC market both in terms of total capacity installed in MW and total number of SRECs available each year. Under the current RPS, significantly more solar has been installed than is necessary to meet the state’s RPS goals for the next several years.

The 2012 reporting year (June 1, 2011 – May 31, 2012) requires 442,000 SRECs. Our March 2012 capacity analysis (scroll down to see the NJ numbers) shows that as of the beginning of April, total registered installed capacity was 670.9 MW with 386,500 SRECs issued. More recent data from the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy shows the installed capacity, as of March 31, 2012, at 730.3 MW. Additionally, approximately 455,000 SRECs have been issued in GATS from solar PV generation through March 2012. This figure, demonstrates that as of the last issuance period, there are more than enough SRECs available in the market to meet the 2012 reporting year requirement of 442,000 SRECs. The Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS) is the organization that all New Jersey PV systems must register with in order to create and transact SRECs.

Another factor is that SREC issuance tends to follow a natural lag due to missing meter reading submissions and delays registering systems with GATS.  Given our experience with this data, it’s reasonable to expect a further bump in SREC numbers through March 2012. Also, April and May 2012 SRECs will be issued at the end of May and June, respectively, and will also add to this year’s total SREC issuance figures.

The additional volume to be issued allows us to project that the market is likely 40% to 50% oversupplied for the 2012 energy year. Lastly, when analyzing the 2013 through 2015 energy year current RPS requirements, the figures show that the market will be oversupplied when taking into consideration eligible excess SRECs rolled forward from prior years and the existing amount of installed capacity as of 3/31/12 currently eligible to produce SRECs. The table below demonstrates this in more detail:

Proposals to stabilize the SREC market

Industry stakeholders are working with the New Jersey legislature to come up with a way to stabilize the NJ SREC market. A NJBiz.com article dated May 3rd, mentions a possible bill proposal by Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway), Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, that would accelerate New Jersey’s solar goals while reducing how much buyers would need to pay for their SRECs if they don’t have enough SRECs in their portfolios at the end of each energy year.

To date, no bill has been made publicly available. Based on the information provided on the NJ State Legislature website, it appears the bill will be slated under the number S1925. The current description listed includes the following, “Revises certain solar renewable energy programs and requirements; provides for aggregating net metering of Class I renewable energy production on certain contiguous and non-contiguous properties owned by local government units and school districts.”

Until then, we must speculate on what the final contents of the bill will be.  An additional consideration is that even if a bill is passed by the NJ legislature, the bill will likely not go into effect until the 2014 energy year which starts in June 2013.

MA2011 SREC Auction Closes at $540/SREC

Posted April 18th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

The Q4 2011 (October – December 2011 generation) MA SRECs were issued on April 15, 2012. Unlike other SREC markets, the MA Solar Carve-Out program mints SRECs quarterly, three and a half months after the close of the calendar quarter. In coordination with the Q4 2011 issuance, SRECTrade recently held a separate auction for MA2011 SRECs.

The auction order window closed on Monday, April 16th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. SRECs transacted at a clearing price of $540.00 per SREC. The clearing price, more than 98% of the 2011 Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP), represents a strong demand for MA2011 SRECs due to a shortfall of supply in the market.

The next SRECTrade Solar REC auction order window closes on Tuesday, May 1 at 5 p.m. ET. This auction will cover all of the PJM SREC markets including DC, DE, MD, NJ, OH, and PA. The order window is currently open. All buyers and self-serve sellers can login here to place an order. Sellers utilizing SRECTrade’s management service, EasyREC, will have orders automatically placed on their behalf. If these sellers need to make changes to their minimum offer prices, they must do so prior to the 5:00 p.m. close on May 1.

The next issuance of MA Eligible SRECs will be on July 15, 2012, and will cover the first quarter of 2012 eligible SRECs. The MA market continues to see a lot of installation and development activity, which has already put downward pressure on the price of 2012 vintage SRECs. Recent bid and offer activity in the over the counter markets has been at levels of approximately 50-65% of the 2012 $550 Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (SACP).

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – March 2012

Posted April 9th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: March 2012

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

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 23,871 solar PV and 287 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 139 (0.58%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 14 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of April 4, 2012, 27.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 27.8 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, the DE SREC Pilot Program solicitation is under way, with a portion of the capacity tiers already closed. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 19,600 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

DE Chart

Maryland: The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of April 4, 2012, 44.0 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. Legislation is making its way through the MD legislature to pull forward the RPS requirements. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,500 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out of state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

MD Chart

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of April 4, 2012, 670.9 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 670.9 MW figure. As of February 29, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 689.1 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 386,500 NJ2012 SRECs.

NJ Chart

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of April 4, 2012, 44.9 MW of in-state capacity and 84.0 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of April 8, 2012, GATS issued approximately 5,200 in-state and 11,200 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

OH Chart

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of April 4, 2012, 187.9 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 124,500 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

PA Chart

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of April 4, 2012, 23.1 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of April 8, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 3,100 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

DC Chart

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of April 5, 2012, there were 1,728 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 1,698 operational and 30 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 64.1 MW, 53.7 of which is operational and 10.4 not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 62,900 and 73,400 SRECs in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Through the Q3 2011 issuance period (1/15/12), 19,257 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, more than 7,000 MWh have been reported to the PTS during Q4 2011. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) projects approximately 29,000 SRECs to be generated in 2011, leaving the market short approximately 33,900 SRECs. The next issuance period for Q4 2011 SRECs will be on April 15, 2012.

MA Chart

For additional analysis on the current state of the MA SREC market and an outlook on 2012 see the following post published on March 16, 2012: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

Capacity Summary By State

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. For example, New Jersey needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement. 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based 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.

Maryland Update – Senate Passes SB791

Posted April 4th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Today, the Maryland Senate voted 37-9 in favor of Senate Bill 791. We have been following this piece of legislation closely and have provided estimates and analysis around its impact on the Maryland Solar REC market.

Overall, the legislation pulls forward the Solar RPS requirements, reaching the existing 2022 Solar % requirements in 2020. The chart below demonstrates the existing requirements vs. the proposed requirements under the new legislation.

MD Solar RPS Current vs. HB1187

The next step for the bill is to move on to the Governor’s office to be signed into law.  Maryland stakeholders expect the legislation to be well received by the Governor who will likely sign the bill in May.

We’ll continue to provide updates as the bill is finalized and signed into law. Before then we should point out this bill was successfully promoted in part due to the efforts of the Maryland-DC-Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association (MDV-SEIA) and strong grassroots support from Maryland stakeholders at large.

Update – Maryland Proposes New Solar Legislation

Posted April 2nd, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Since our last update on legislation to adjust the Solar RPS requirements in Maryland, there has been some movement in both the House and the Senate.

After HB1187 passed out of the House Economic Matters Committee, the bill was heard on the floor of the House and passed unanimously 131-0. Earlier last week, the Senate version of the bill, SB791, was voted down in the Senate Finance Committee, 4-7. The bill was then reconsidered by the committee the other day with the original vote being overturned, 8-2 (with one abstention).

The next stage for SB791 is to bring it up for vote on the floor of the Senate. Stakeholders expect this will take place Monday or Wednesday of this week. Some have expressed that the bill may be met with some resistance from the Senate, but it is expected that should it pass out of the Senate it will be well received by the Governor.

If you have an interest in voicing your thoughts on this piece of legislation, feel free to visit this link to find your appropriate representative. We’ll continue to provide updates through our blog as the bill makes its way through the process.

US-China Trade Dispute Update

Posted March 23rd, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Back in January we put up a blog post on the US-China solar module trade dispute.  The schedule of events has changed somewhat since the January posting. SolarWorld, a German-owned, module manufacturing company with operations in Oregon asked the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) to investigate the fairness of subsidies provided to Chinese manufacturers by the Chinese government. The complaint set in motion two types of investigations. The first is a countervailing duty investigation (CVD and the second is an anti-dumping (AD) investigation. On Tuesday, 3/20/12, the DOC levied tariffs on crystalline silicon modules produced in China of between 2.9 and 4.37 percent. On May 17th, the DOC is scheduled to issue a finding on the AD investigation. It’s possible that the AD ruling by the DOC will be for additional tariffs.

The CVD tariffs specifically discuss Suntech and Trina solar. With Trina modules receiving the highest tariff and Suntech modules a lower tariff than the rest of the solar products impacted by the ruling. Click here for an official DOC summary of its CVD ruling.

  • Trina- 4.73%
  • Suntech- 2.9%
  • All others- 3.59%
  • Click here for additional analysis of the ruling written by James Montgomery of Renewable Energy World, an online renewable energy forum.

    Maryland Proposes New Solar Legislation

    Posted March 22nd, 2012 by SRECTrade.

    For a PDF copy of this analysis please click here: Maryland Proposes New Solar Legislation

    In February 2012, the Maryland legislature introduced legislation that directly impacts the MD solar industry. Two sets of legislation are proposed. The first set, House Bill 1187 (HB1187) and Senate Bill (SB791) seek to adjust the solar goals outlined in the MD Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The second set House Bill 864 (HB864) and Senate Bill 595 (SB595) propose adjustments to the state law to allow for “Community Solar.”

    In order for either sets of legislation to be signed into law, both the House and Senate versions must be passed and a final bill signed by the Governor. We detail both sets of legislation below.

    Maryland RPS Adjustment

    Companion bills HB1187 and SB791, pull forward the percentage requirement of the solar portion of the MD RPS, reaching its 2.0% solar target in 2020 instead of 2022. In addition to pulling the RPS % forward, the percentage requirements in the interim, beginning in 2013, would also increase.

    The chart below demonstrates the existing RPS % versus the proposed percentage requirements under HB1187/SB791.

    MD Solar RPS Current vs. HB1187

    While the overall MD RPS solar goal does not change under HB1187/SB791, the amount of SRECs required increases in each of the interim years beginning in 2013 (SREC requirements are directly tied to the RPS % requirements). These increases could have a positive impact on SREC pricing if the market is unable to develop the needed supply during these future periods. Although the increases are meaningful (especially in the later years, see charts below), large projects such as First Solar’s20 MW Hagerstown, MDproject and Constellation Energy’s16.1 and 1.3 MW Emmitsburg, MDprojects can still substantially impact the SREC market.

    Current vs. Proposed and Additional

    As of March 7, 2012,PJM GATS reported 41.8 MWof operational MD eligible capacity. Under the existing MD2012 RPS requirements, Maryland needs an average of 56.1 MW operational all year long, or 67,310 SRECs. Additionally, any left-over supply from 2010 and 2011 also can be used to meet MD2012 compliance requirements. Given continued development in the state, which has averaged approximately 2.3 MW/month over the last 12 months (LTM), and the larger projects noted above, the increase in capacity as proposed by HB1187 and SB791 would help absorb continued solar build out.

    Maryland could expect to see approximately 102.2 MW of operational capacity at the beginning of 2013. This figure takes into consideration the online capacity as of 3/7/12, the impact of the Constellation and Maryland Solar projects (assumed to be fully operational by the end of 2012), and continued development at the same pace as the LTM period. The table below demonstrates how our estimated 2013 beginning balance capacity compares to the number of SRECs required under the current 2013 RPS requirements versus the proposed requirements under HB1187/SB791.

    estimated 2013 beginning balance

    Where Does HB1187/SB791 Currently Stand?

    Earlier this week, HB1187, the House version of the bill, was heard in the House Economic Matters committee. A couple panels with industry analysts and regional installation professionals presented their thoughts on the impact of pulling forward the Solar RPS requirements. After the reading and the presentations, the bill was unanimously passed out of committee.

    It is expected that the House bill will reach the floor for final vote later this week or early next week. Additionally, the Senate bill needs to be heard in the Senate Finance Committee before it can make it to the floor of the Senate. Should both sides of the legislature vote in favor of the bills, the final step would be to have it sent to Governor O’Malley to be signed into law.

    Community Energy Bills HB864/SB595

    In addition to HB1187/SB791, there are 2 bills in the MD House and Senate,HB864andSB595, which provide guidelines and regulations for investing, operating, and participating in the usage of electricity generated from shared community energy generation facilities. While Annapolis insiders suggest that these “community solar” bills have a way to go before they are implemented, important initial legwork is being completed to make community solar projects feasible. The highlights of the current versions of the bills include:

    – Defining that community energy-generating facilities and their subscribers or subscriber organizations are not considered Electric Companies or Electricity Suppliers

    – Provides a frame work for crediting generated electricity to the subscribers of the facility

    – Outlines who can be a qualified project owner

    – Explains how energy not fully allocated to users of the project’s electricity will be credited/purchased as wholesale electricity

    – Implements nameplate megawatt capacity caps, currently 2 MW, on projects that participate in a community energy project structure

    SRECTrade will continue to keep a close eye on the legislative process across these bills and provide updates as they become available.

    Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

    Posted March 16th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

    For a PDF copy of this analysis click here: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

    The MA2012 SREC compliance year began in January 2012. There has been a lot of attention on the Bay State’s solar carve-out program and installation activity continues to pick up. A substantial under supply in 2010 and 2011 vintages resulted in SRECs pricing just shy of the alternative compliance payment (ACP). Moving forward many stakeholders are closely watching how supply will impact 2012 and future period valuations. The analysis below takes a look at current capacity levels and provides some insight into how the market may shape up in 2012.

    As of March 6, 2012, the MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER) posted updated total qualified solar capacity figures. The DOER noted that due to a delay from MassCEC, the entity that approves all renewable projects in the Commonwealth, the project-level details of the total qualified capacity is not yet available. As of this writing, the DOER was still awaiting the information from MassCEC and noted an updated report would be published when available.

    MA Chart

    The total qualified capacity noted as of the update is as follows:

    – Total Qualified Capacity (3/6/12): 63.6 MW (1,704 projects)
    – Total Operational Capacity (3/6/12): 52.6 MW (1,671 projects)
    – Total Operational Capacity (1/1/12): 48.3 MW (1,595 projects)

    Based on the historic capacity that has come online since December 2010, below is some analysis demonstrating capacity that could be expected to come online throughout the 2012 compliance period.

    Historic Capacity 3_15_12

    The table above demonstrates the amount of operational capacity as reported by the DOER based on the dates indicated. Note, these figures are (and were) readily available on the DOER’s public website.  Looking at the last 12 DOER reported periods (which we’ll refer to as Last Twelve Months, or LTM for our purposes), the average MW added per month was just above 4.0 MW.

    Using the January 1, 2012 starting capacity of 48.3 MW and the March 6 operational capacity of 52.6 MW, we have inferred that on average 2.2 MW became operational in January and February 2012. The analysis below demonstrates 3 cases. In each case, a different capacity scenario is presented based on the average amount of added capacity over the LTM. Case 1 assumes only half of the LTM average capacity is added per month; Case 2 assumes the same amount of LTM average capacity is added per month; and Case 3 assumes two times the amount of LTM average capacity is added per month. Note, these forecast figures were derived simply based on historic rates. The figures do not take into consideration the amount of capacity currently in the interconnection pipeline. Many factors can impact these figures, including the timing associated with interconnection, changes in federal incentive policies, and pricing and liquidity in the MA SREC forward market, to name a few.

    Forecast MA Capacity 3_15_12

    *Note the Estimated Production Factor per Period is based on a 1.13 MWh per installed kW per year adjusted for seasonal impacts.

    The 3 cases presented herein demonstrate a market that is slightly undersupplied (Case 1), a market that is slightly oversupplied, or almost flat (Case 2), and a market that is oversupplied by approximately 30% (Case 3). Also, it is important to note that expected volume in each case presented could change if the roll out of additional capacity is not evenly disbursed. Depending on each scenario, SREC prices will adjust accordingly.

    Through the Q3 2011 issuance period (1/15/12), 19,257 MA2011 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, more than 7,000 MWh have been reported to the PTS during Q4 2011. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) projects approximately 29,000 SRECs to be generated in 2011, leaving the market short approximately 33,900 SRECs. As a result of this substantial undersupply, MA2011 SRECs have traded close to the 2011 ACP value of $550/SREC. In recent trading, the MA2012 market has priced at approximately 65% of MA2011 spot prices. Additionally, bidding for multi-year forward contracts beginning with 2012 delivery is currently below the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction price.

    Projects Installed by Size Category

    Given the relatively smaller MW capacity requirements in the early stages of the MA SREC program, the installation of larger scale (>1 MW) projects can easily have a substantial impact on the SREC requirements. Looking at the various cases presented above, they demonstrate that the installation of enough >1 MW projects could easily tip the market into oversupply. Additionally, it is possible that commercial size projects ranging from 100kW to 500kW could have an impact as well. While >1 MW projects quickly meet the 2012 requirements, many of these projects take much longer to come to fruition. The design, interconnection, construction, and financing processes for these projects can take several months. Installers and developers in MA have recently noted that smaller, multi-100kW commercial projects are much faster from inception to power generation. It is common that these projects are financed using all equity capital or debt sourced from an existing banking relationship established and backed by a corporate entity’s balance sheet. Considering these factors, it is very possible the multi-100kW size category will have a meaningful impact on the MA2012 SREC market.

    The table below analyses various size categories of systems and the number of projects installed and how these categories grew from DOER reported data as of July 11, 2011 vs. January 25, 2012.

    Project Categories 3_15_12

    As demonstrated above, both the residential (<50kW) and commercial (>50 kw to 500kW) categories grew at substantial rates during the periods presented. Given these historic growth rates and the amount of current solar development interest in MA, it is expected that we will continue to see more growth in these size categories throughout 2012.

    The final MA2011 issuance period for Q4 2011 SRECs is April 15, 2011. The first MA2012 spot trades will commence after the Q1 MA2012 issuance period on July 15, 2012.

    Solar Capacity in the SREC States – February 2012

    Posted March 8th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

    SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: February 2012

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

    A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

    Renewable Generators in GATS 3_7_12

    PJM Eligible Systems

    As of this writing, there were 23,036 solar PV and 272 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 133 (0.57%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 14 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in Ohio is 12 MW. The third largest system, at 11.2 MW, is located in Delaware.

    Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of March 7, 2012, 27.1 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 27.1 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. As of March 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 17,300 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

    DE Chart

    Maryland: Maryland’s 2011 solar compliance requirements are currently being finalized. The 2011 Solar RPS target requires approximately 33,160 SRECs to be retired. To meet this using only 2011 vintage SRECs, approximately 27.6 MW would need to be operational all year long. The MD Public Services Commission recently announced that enough solar facilities were connected to the Maryland electric grid to satisfy the 2011 Solar RPS requirements with MD sited SRECs. The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of March 7, 2012, 41.8 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. As of  March 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 2,340 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out of state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

    MD Chart

    New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of March 7, 2012, 637.1 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 637.1 MW figure. As of January 31, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 649.2 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Additionally, preliminary figures from the NJ OCE estimate another 39 MW installed in February 2012, totaling 689 MW of capacity. As of March 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 327,000 NJ2012 SRECs.

    NJ Chart

    Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of March 7, 2012, 44.0 MW of in-state capacity and 81.3 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of March 8, 2012, GATS issued approximately 1,904 in-state and 4,485 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

    OH Chart

    Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of March 7, 2012, 182.0 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of March 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 115,700 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

    PA Chart

    Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of March 8, 2012, 23.1 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of March 8, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 1,320 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

    DC Chart

    Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

    For a additional analysis on the current state of the MA SREC market see the following post published on March 16, 2012: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

    As of March 6, 2012, there were 1,704 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 1,671 operational and 33 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 63.6 MW, 52.6 of which is operational and 11.0 not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 62,900 and 73,400 SRECs in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Through the Q3 2011 issuance period (1/15/12), 19,257 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, more than 7,000 MWh have been reported to the PTS during Q4 2011. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) projects approximately 29,000 SRECs to be generated in 2011, leaving the market short approximately 33,900 SRECs. The next issuance period for Q4 2011 SRECs will be on April 15, 2012.

    MA Chart

    Capacity Summary By State

    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. For example, New Jersey needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement. 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.

    *Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

    Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based 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.