Maryland SREC Market
Maryland is a robust spot market because long-term contracts are difficult to come by. One of the state's initial requirements is that a solar generator first list their SRECs for sale on the Maryland PSC's website for 15 year contracts available to LSEs. If the facility is under 10 kW, any potential buyer must pay for the SRECs up front. Despite this requirement there are no buyers willing to enter into these contracts. The utilities are averse to locking in energy prices because of the exposure to price volatility and seem very willing to simply pay the SACP. Two factors that also affect the Maryland market are that it is closed to in-state solar generators and the RPS seems aggressive enough that MD SRECs will maintain value over time.
Pricing:
SREC Auction - History of auction closing prices
News:
Maryland Blog - Starting point for useful information regarding the Maryland SREC market
Other States in which Maryland facilities are eligible:
Pennsylvania
States Eligible for MD Market: MD
Energy Year: January 1 to December 31
Tracking Platform: GATS
SREC Useful Life: 3 years - a 2010 SREC can be counted towards the 2010, 2011 or 2012 RPS
Solar Requirement: Reaching 2.00% of total electricty generated in 2021
SACP: $400 through 2014, declining after.
Meter Reading: Facilities less than 10 kW may use estimated generation based on the PV Watts calculator. All other facilities must repoort monthly meter readings.
Eligibility Begins: Upon date of interconnection or the beginning of the most recent energy year (whichever happens second).
|
Energy Year |
RPS Solar Requirement |
Projected SRECs Required (MWh) |
Projected Capacity Required (MW) |
SACP |
|
2009 |
0.01% |
6,259 |
5.2 |
$400 |
|
2010 |
0.025% |
16,334 |
13.6 |
$400 |
|
2011 |
0.05% |
31,800 |
26.5 |
$400 |
|
2012 |
0.10% |
64,554 |
53.8 |
$400 |
|
2013 |
0.25% |
163,805 |
136.5 |
$400 |
|
2014 |
0.35% |
232,767 |
194.0 |
$400 |
|
2015 |
0.50% |
337,512 |
281.3 |
$350 |
|
2016 |
0.70% |
479,605 |
399.7 |
$350 |
|
2017 |
0.95% |
660,655 |
550.5 |
$200 |
|
2018 |
1.40% |
988,201 |
823.5 |
$200 |
|
2019 |
1.75% |
1,253,781 |
1,044.8 |
$150 |
|
2020 |
2.00% |
1,454,385 |
1,212.0 |
$150 |
|
2021 |
2.00% |
1,476,201 |
1,230.2 |
$100 |
|
2022 |
2.00% |
1,498,344 |
1,248.6 |
$100 |
|
2023 |
2.00% |
1,520,819 |
1,267.3 |
$50 |
|
2024 |
2.00% |
1,543,632 |
1,286.4 |
$50 |
|
2025 |
2.00% |
1,566,786 |
1,305.7 |
$50 |
|
2026 |
2.00% |
1,590,288 |
1,325.2 |
$50 |
|
2027 |
2.00% |
1,614,142 |
1,345.1 |
$50 |
|
2028 |
2.00% |
1,638,354 |
1,365.3 |
$50 |
Source: 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. RPS Solar Requirement is multiplied by forecast total electricity sales to arrive at Projected SRECs Required. Projected Capacity Required is based on a factor of 1,200 MWh generated per MW of installed capacity per year. Projected Capacity Required assumes the amount of capacity needed to be operational all year to meet that year's RPS requirements with only current vintage SRECs.
Useful Links:
Maryland Client Forms - All the forms necessary to sign up for SRECTrade's EasyREC service
New to Solar? - Getting Started - The nuts and bolts of getting started generating and selling SRECs
Registering in Maryland - Application details from the Maryland PSC
DSIRE: Maryland RPS - Details on the Renewable Portfolio Standard
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