Earlier this month SRECTrade hosted a webinar on the Massachusetts SREC market. Since then, there have been a few questions relating to the Massachusetts DOER’s Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, informally referred to as the “Last Chance Auction.” Since there is a confirmed oversupply in Massachusetts for 2012, the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction will occur in July of 2013 for all unsold SRECs. The auction was designed as a “price support mechanism” for the Massachusetts SREC market, but it does not represent a “price floor,” a common misperception.
The specific dates of the auction are yet to be determined, but here is a rough outline of the timeline:
- May 15th: Sellers may begin to deposit unsold SRECs int he Auction Account
- June 15th: Deadline for sellers to deposit their unsold SRECs in the Auction Account (SRECTrade does this automatically for our customers)
- Late June: Webinars, FAQs, Q&As will all be provided
- July: Auction is held
- August: Payments are made sometime in August
- August 15th: Entire auction process (excluding payment delivery) must be completed by this date in order to commence 2013 SREC market activity
Here are a few key things to know about the auction:
- All unsold SRECs must be deposited in the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, otherwise they are forfeited by the seller and retired, having no value to the sellers (again, SRECTrade will ensure that every unsold SREC is deposited for our clients)
- SRECs must be deposited in the auction by the original aggregator/account holder. 3rd party account holders are ineligible from participating in the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction
- If the auction clears, sellers receive $285 per SREC (note: SRECTrade fees are applicable)
- If the auction does not fully clear, every seller will sell an equal percentage of SRECs. If 50% of the auction clears, each seller will sell 50% of the SRECs deposited
- SRECs that do not clear in the auction are returned to the seller with 3 additional years of life, so the SREC created in 2012 will have value to a buyer in 2013, 2014 and 2015
- SRECs that do not clear in the auction are NOT eligible for any future Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auctions
- If there is an oversupply, Buyers may “bank” up to 10% of their 2012 requirement and use them in 2013 or 2014
Here is the full webinar from December 5th, 2012:
Tags: DOER, DOER Last Chance Auction, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Solar Carve-out, Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction