Archive for March, 2019

Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act Continues to Get Support / Passes Maryland Senate

Posted March 28th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

Last week, on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, the Maryland Senate passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) 33-13. Senate Bill 516 most notably increases the Maryland Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 50% renewable energy by 2030. The bill also substantially increases the state’s Solar REC program bumping the 2019 solar requirement to 5.5% and increasing until it reaches 14.5% in 2028 and onward.

For the legislation to progress, the Maryland House Economics Matters Committee would need to bring it forward and be voted on favorably on the floor of the House. The bill would then ultimately be sent onward to Governor Larry Hogan’s desk. Governor Hogan will then need to sign the bill or let it pass without his signature to put the bill into law. While uncertainty remains on Governor Hogan’s view on the legislation, some believe his recently shared perspective demonstrates positive support.

Since the Senate voted in favor of the bill, the House hasn’t taken action on the matter yet. On Monday, March 25, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) put his support behind the bill. Senator Van Hollen sent a letter to House Economic Matters Chair Dereck Davis explaining why time is of the essence. Specifically Van Hollen noted that delaying the legislation until next year could result in the loss of nearly $250 million in federal investment tax credit (ITC) dollars. Additionally, further delay could continue to hurt the solar jobs market in the state. Maryland lost 800 solar industry jobs in 2018, ranking it 47th in solar growth in the U.S.

As of now, the bill awaits action in the House. Not much time remains in the current general session, which is scheduled to adjourn on Monday, April 8. SRECTrade will continue to monitor these proceedings closely and update our partners and clients with any new information.

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SRECTrade Expands Eligible Solar Generation Auto-Reporters to Include eGauge and Fronius Integrations

Posted March 21st, 2019 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade is excited to announce that eGauge and Fronius are now eligible to auto-report production for all PJM GATS facilities through SRECTrade’s online platform. The new integrations expand on SRECTrade’s existing functionality with Enphase Energy and SolarEdge. These new integrations demonstrate SRECTrade’s commitment to focusing on delivering efficient technology solutions to its clients.

Selecting eGauge will require applicants to also provide the eGauge “Device ID” or “Device Name”. Similarly, selecting Fronius will require applicants to also provide the Fronius “Site ID”. SRECTrade’s Operations and Reporting Team will work with applicants on completing auto-reporting setups.

For Illinois-sited facilities, eGauge and Fronius are now approved auto-reporters for the Illinois Adjustable Block Program (ABP).

Tags: auto-reporter, eGauge, Fronius
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California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Market Overview and Pricing

Posted March 18th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

Overview

Pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32), Executive Order S-01-07 of 2007 called for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to reduce the carbon intensity (CI) of California transportation fuels by 10% by 2020, from a 2010 baseline. The Order instructed the California EPA to develop a compliance schedule and directed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to initiate regulatory proceedings to implement the program. CARB approved the LCFS regulation in 2009. Implementation and the first year of compliance began in 2011. Revisions to the program were made at the end of 2011 and took effect in 2013. Due to a court ruling that found procedural issues with the original adoption of the program, the program targets were effectively frozen from 2013 – 2015 until CARB re-adopted it in 2015. In January 2019, CARB amended the LCFS regulations and increased the carbon intensity reduction goal to 20% by 2030. An LCFS Credit is issued per 1 metric ton (MT) of CO₂ equivalent reduced.

Other states and territories (i.e. Oregon and British Columbia) on the western seaboard of North America have followed in California’s footsteps and implemented LCFS programs of their own. As compliance standards continue to build, these programs hope to stimulate greater regional synergy in lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Quick Facts

1 LCFS Credit = 1 MT of CO₂ equivalent reduced
Electric Vehicle Fleets and Charging Stations must be certified by CARB to sell LCFS credits
Value is determined by market supply and demand mechanics
SRECTrade manages the entire certification and credit monetization process

Compliance Obligations

The LCFS applies to the sale or supply of any fuel in California. Fuel producers and importers are the primary regulated parties. Regulated parties that exceed the maximum CI compliance limit may meet compliance by purchasing credits that are issued to regulated parties with an average CI that is below the maximum CI compliance limit. The LCFS enforces a declining CI curve every year to ensure the continuous reduction of the transportation fuel industry’s environmental impact. The chart below reflects the compliance schedule of average CI that needs to be meet for each respective baseline fuel type.

California Carbon Intensity Compliance Schedule; Source: California Air Resources Board (CARB)

Source: California Air Resources Board (CARB)

Pricing

Source: California Air Resources Board (CARB) as of March 10, 2019

SRECTrade’s Clean Fuels Management Services

SRECTrade provides EV charging networks, fleet operators, original equipment manufacturers, and independent EV charging station owners comprehensive fuel credit registration, management and monetization services. We make it easy to register, manage and navigate the regulatory and administrative complexities of the western clean fuels markets. Our company facilitates a return on the investment in your EV fleet or charging station portfolio through low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credit management and transaction services. If you are interested in our services or have any questions, please reach out to our Clean Fuels Team at cleanfuels@srectrade.com.

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SRECTrade’s Management Business Exceeds 500 MW of Clean Energy Assets

Posted March 11th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On February 5, 2019 SRECTrade’s environmental commodity management platform surpassed 500 megawatts (MW) of assets under management. As of today, the Company manages more than 520 MW of clean energy projects spanning more than 36,000 assets. SRECTrade’s assets under management are comprised of solar photovoltaic, wind, renewable thermal, and electric vehicle assets. This milestone demonstrates the Company’s ability to manage clean energy projects across a variety of environmental commodity incentive markets.

SRECTrade-X, the Company’s portfolio management software, provides services to institutional renewable energy asset owners covering an additional 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of assets across more than 115,000 projects. The platform also provides renewable energy credit solutions to electricity suppliers and environmental commodity trading firms.

Over the past decade, SRECTrade has established itself as the preeminent provider of efficient environmental commodity management and technology solutions. The Company provides cloud-based services to the clean energy industry with an expertise in managing, transacting, and processing environmental incentives. SRECTrade’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of clean energy by providing services and technology that minimize the time, cost, and risk associated with achieving benefits and compliance in the markets it serves.

A copy of the full press release can be found here.

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