For people interested in the West Virginia SREC market, unfortunately there is currently no market within West Virginia for solar RECs (SRECs). The existence of SRECs, as opposed to regular RECs, is predicated on specific renewable portfolio legislation that says x% of the state’s energy has to come from solar.  West Virginia has a generic renewable standard, but no specific solar carve-out.  This means that the RECs that are applied to the West Virginia renewable portfolio standard are not considered SRECs, but rather generic RECs.  RECs trade at a fraction of the price of SRECs because the alternative compliance payments for solar tend to be higher when there is a carve-out. This is primarily because solar is still more expensive than other renewable energies and needs additional incentives in order to compete.

In addition, the renewable portfolio standard requirement of 10% in West Virginia does not come into effect until 2015.  Utility companies have until 2011 to develop a plan for procuring renewable energy to meet the requirements beginning in 2015.  An SREC market in West Virginia, if it were to develop would both take time and adjustment to the state legislation as it is today.  Even the REC markets won’t pick up in West Virginia until 2015.

However, West Virginia is within the PJM regional transmission organization which means that residents may be able to certify their solar systems in Pennsylvania.  We highly recommend doing this because they would be considered SRECs in PA and therefore have a much higher value than they ever would in West Virginia.  You can find the information to register here on our Pennsylvania Cross-List Blog.  North Carolina and DC are two other markets where West Virginia residents may consider selling their SRECs.  Our Cross-Listing section covers most of this information.

See also the West Virginia Renewable Porfolio Standard.