Archive for the ‘SREC Markets’ Category

Round Two of the MA DOER Auction Does Not Clear

Posted July 31st, 2013 by SRECTrade.

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced today, 7/31/2013, that Round Two of its Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA) did not clear. With Round Two not clearing, the compliance requirement for 2014 SRECs is automatically increased by 38,866 SRECs; the amount of SRECs originally deposited in the SCCA. This officially puts the 2014 Massachusetts compliance requirement at 464,520 SRECs. For more information on the SCCA please visit the official website and read our analysis here.

Rounds One and Two were designed to clear only if the bid volume is equal to or greater than the volume deposited into the auction account. Things get interesting with Round Three as the SCCA rules allow for partial fills (i.e. if buyer demand is less than the volume available for sale). Round Three will be held this Friday, 8/2/13. Stay tuned.

Tags: MA compliance obligation, Massachusetts Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, Round Two, SCCA
Posted in Massachusetts, SREC Markets | Comments Off on Round Two of the MA DOER Auction Does Not Clear

Massachusetts DOER Revises 2014 Compliance Numbers and Announces 2nd Round of SCCA

Posted July 27th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

Following Thursday’s MA DOER email announcing the preliminary 2014 compliance obligation, the DOER sent a follow up email yesterday, 7/26/13, that revised down the 2014 compliance requirement. Additionally, the email announced that the first round of the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA) did not clear. The SCCA will now go to Round Two on Wednesday, July 31st. Any SRECs deposited in the SCCA are now eligible for three compliance years (2013, 2014 and 2015). The updated web page covering the new compliance obligation can be found here and the updated SCCA page here.

The 2014 minimum standard was revised down because of a calculation error

The DOER revised down the base line 2014 compliance obligation from 498,951 SRECs to 425,654 SRECs. The DOER attributed this downward revision of 73,297 (pre-SCCA results) to an error made in calculating the figures, “whereby the production from Generation Units operating in Q1 2013 was counted twice in DOER’s projection of SRECs that will be generated in 2013.” The revision sets the 2014 requirement to 425,654 SRECs, but if the SCCA reaches Round 3 then the 2014 compliance obligation will be increased to 464,520 SRECs.

The revision means less capacity is needed to meet the 2014 standard

With any compliance obligation announcement in Massachusetts we must adjust our calculations to account for a legal settlement between TransCanada and the DOER. Taking in to account the DOER’s revisions and the TransCanada reduction of 4,369 SRECs from the 2014 compliance obligation, the adjustments equate to 421,285 SRECs prior to any impact from the SCCA. We can convert the compliance obligation to calculate that an average of 363.2 MW or 396.7 MW operational all year long to to produce 421,285 SRECs or 460,151 SRECs depending on whether or not the SCCA reaches the third round. Note, these MW capacity figures only consider retiring 2014 vintage SRECs to meet the compliance obligation. It is possible older vintage SRECs can be used to meet the 2014 requirements, thus further reducing the capacity needed online throughout 2014.

We understand that 245.9 MW is operational (installed through July 25) and qualified for the current SREC program. Depending on whether or not the SCCA reaches the third round, a difference of 117.3 MW or 150.8 MW is needed to be added by the end of 2013 to issue the 2014 SREC requirement. Remember, this assumes the 2014 standard is only met with 2014 vintage SRECs and no additional capacity is added throughout 2014 (likely not the case given oversupply from prior periods and the possibility more MW capacity will be added before the end of 2013 or by June 2014; if eligible). Referencing the recent qualified and pending SQA lists, there are approximately 435 MW eligible but not yet operational. This means that (without taking in to consideration oversupply from previous periods) approximately 25-35% of the eligible, not operational capacity would need to be installed by 12/31/2013 to have enough solar capacity online by the beginning of 2014. See yesterday’s blog post to reference our analysis prior to the DOER’s revision.

The market did not expect round one of the DOER auction to clear

In order for the first round of the SCCA to have cleared today, all 38,866 SRECs needed to be transacted. Since the auction did not clear the SCCA moves to Round Two. The SRECs are now deposited back in to the SCCA with an extended useful life; 2 years increased to 3. Should a third round be needed then the 2014 compliance standard will increase by the number of SRECs originally entered in to the SCCA; 38,866 SRECs. At this point, the new 2014 SREC obligation will be increased to 460,151 net of all compliance exemptions.

Tags: MA compliance obligation, Massachusetts Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, minimum standard, SCCA
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Massachusetts Announces the 2014 Compliance Obligation and SREC II Program Meeting Date

Posted July 25th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

Less than 24 hours before the start of the DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA), referenced here and officially here, the Massachusetts DOER announced the preliminary SREC compliance obligation for 2014. The DOER’s original email can be found here.

A quick look at the numbers

The official 2014 SREC requirement is 498,951 SRECs, however 4,369 SRECs are deducted from the overall requirement because of a settlement between TransCanada, a power supplier, and the DOER. This gives us a final number of 494,582 SRECs required. If the SCCA goes to the 3rd round, the 2014 compliance obligation will automatically increase by the volume deposited, 38,866 SRECs, resulting in a new 2014 net compliance obligation of 533,448 SRECs.

Approximately how much more solar is needed in 2014

According to the DOER’s calculation worksheet, 245.9 MW of capacity is currently qualified (installed through July 25). In simple terms, the 2014 compliance requirement equates to an average of 426.4 MW or 459.9 MW operational all year long to mint the 494,582 or 533,448 MWh requirements (note the 2 scenarios depend on whether or not the the upcoming SCCC reaches the 3rd round). Also, its important to note that the MW equivalent figures only take into consideration SRECs issued during the 2014 compliance year. We already know there is excess supply from 2012, the volume banked and deposited into the SCCA, and oversupply from 2013 that will effectively reduce the capacity needed online throughout 2014 to meet the Solar RPS requirements.

The difference between the 245.9 MW qualified and the capacity needed under each 2014 scenario is a difference of 180.5 MW or 214.0 MW. Given the recent qualified and pending SQA lists, there are approximately 435 MW eligible but not yet operational. This means that approximately 40-50% of the eligible, not operational capacity would need to be installed by 12/31/2013 (without including oversupply from previous periods) to have enough solar capacity, by the beginning of the year, issue the 2014 MA SRECs required.

Timeline for large project installations

Projects that are greater than 100 kW in capacity and eligible for the current program must be operational by 12/31/13 or demonstrate that they have expended at least 50% of the project costs before the end of the year to receive an extension until the end of June 2014. Projects that can demonstrate substantial delays originating from the interconnecting utility can possibly receive longer extensions. This means that it will be at least until the end of the year, if not June 2014, before we understand the final shake out of installed capacity eligible under the current SREC program.

SREC II Program Meeting

The DOER will hold a stakeholder meeting to discuss the next SREC program on August 12th from 1 to 3 pm ET. The meeting will be held in the Gardner Auditorium of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Further information on the SREC II program can be tracked here. The email announcing the meeting is linked here.

Tags: 2014 SRECs, DOER Solar Clearinghouse Auction, ma SREC compliance obligation, MA SRECs, SCCA
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Borrego’s Dan Berwick Posts “Understanding Massachusetts’ SREC Auction Program”

Posted July 23rd, 2013 by SRECTrade.

Dan Berwick, Borrego Solar’s Vice President of Business Development, recently posted the best article we’ve seen to date on the upcoming Massachusetts Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA). Dan Berwick’s article was originally posted on Greentechmedia.com and is re-posted here.

“This week, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources will run its first Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) auction under the solar carve-out.

It might not clear, and everything will be okay.

The Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA) is happening for the first time this year because even though 2012 was the third year of the solar carve-out, it was the first year in which SREC supply exceeded SREC demand. Under-supply and high SREC prices in 2010 and 2011 attracted investment that tipped the 2012 SREC vintage into oversupply, and guaranteed oversupply in 2013 as well.

By rule, any 2012 SRECs not used for 2012 compliance will expire and lose all value unless they are deposited in the SCCA account in the month after compliance is closed, and before the auction is run. The 2012 minimum standard was 81,559 SRECs, and 119,247 SRECs were actually minted — 37,688 more than were needed. That’s close to the 38,866 SRECs that ended up in the SCCA account by the time it closed last month.

Next, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announces the minimum standard — that is, the demand level — for 2014. It’s important to note that the DOER has no discretion over the 2014 minimum standard; it is calculated according to a formula set forth in the regulation, 225 CMR 14.00. The reason that the DOER has to wait until July 2013 to announce the 2014 minimum standard is that the formula for calculating it includes, as its final term, the number of 2012 SRECs deposited in the SCCA account.

Specifically, whatever the formula says 2014 demand would be, the actual 2014 minimum standard gets increased by 38,866. This is actually pretty intuitive, if you remember that every design element that makes this program unique among SREC programs is there to foster supply-demand balance. The SRECs deposited in the SCCA account represent over-supply — they are extra SRECs in need of a home. By including the SCCA term in the formula for calculating new demand, the formula is simply saying, “Okay, there is an oversupply of 38,866 SRECs; if we want to get back to supply/demand balance, let’s increase demand by those 38,866 SRECs, and presto change-o, we’re back to balance.”

Now that the formula has sent an unambiguous signal to the market — “Hey, market: you’re gonna need these SRECs” — it’s time to run the auction.

The SCCA is in fact a nested series of three rounds of a fixed-price auction, that price being $300, or, from the seller’s perspective, $285, because there is a $15 administrative fee. In each round, if there are fewer bids than there are SRECs in the auction, the round is scrubbed and the process begins again. But by rule, the pot gets sweetened between each round. In the first round of the SCCA, the SRECs get two years of extended life — they can be used for compliance in 2013 or 2014. If buyers don’t like what they are seeing enough to pay $285 for every available SREC, then we try again with round two, but this time those same SRECs get another year of extended life; they can also be used in 2015.

If the second round doesn’t clear, the DOER plays hardball. The pot-sweetener before the third and final round of the SCCA is that the 2014 minimum standard gets increased a second time by the number of SRECs deposited in the SCCA account. So for 2014, that’s another increase of 38,866 SRECs to the 2014 minimum standard.

In our analysis, this, along with the 400 megawatt cap on supply, is the linchpin of the program’s design. Taken along with the various other program rules as defined in 225 CMR 14.00, the conclusion is robust and powerful: an uncleared 2012 auction inevitably leads to undersupply by 2015 at the latest. In other words, this occurs within the three-year extended life of an uncleared 2012 SCCA SREC.

Of course, that doesn’t guarantee a cleared auction, for a couple of reasons.

One, $300 is by many measures a pretty steep price to pay in the summer of 2013 for an SREC that could very well not find a willing buyer at a good price until the spring of 2016. Today’s market price for a 2012 SREC is just a bit above $200.

Two, it’s not obvious what a “good price” will be for that SREC. On the one hand, we have consistently observed in all SREC markets that the clearing price in an under-supplied market has been just a bit below the alternative compliance payment, which in this case would mean a price in the high $400s selling into an under-supplied 2015 SREC market. But on the other hand, the data set is not terribly large, and our shared history with SREC markets is not long, so it’s fair for investors to be cautious and conservative.

And three, this is a policy-created market, which means that it is exposed to political and regulatory risk, which is nobody’s favorite type of risk. Two to three years may be a long time to be exposed to it.

So this auction may well not clear. And in fact, the third reason in the paragraph above is the reason we decided to write this note.

If the SCCA doesn’t clear, we may hear a number of calls for policy intervention, claiming that because the auction didn’t clear, the program is not working as it was designed to work. But that’s not accurate. In fact, the most innovative and effective element of the DOER’s brainchild is exactly its resilience in the wake of an uncleared auction. The program is designed to provide stability whether the SCCA clears or not.

We would not have seen the investment and building boom that we saw in 2012 if this weren’t the case. So far, the solar carve-out program has stimulated over half a billion dollars of new investment in the Commonwealth — an incredible success story for the Patrick administration and the Green Communities Act.

Does anyone think that investors injected half a billion dollars into our state’s economy with one hand while keeping their fingers crossed on the other that the SCCA would clear? Quite the contrary; I’m sure that no less than 90 percent of the time spent by credit committees evaluating these investments was dedicated to this simple question: “What happens if the auction doesn’t clear?” (By the way, if you have half a billion dollars and aren’t in the habit of asking that kind of question, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.)

Now, that said, I would argue that there are two kinds of SREC sellers in Massachusetts. The first — the group that owns the vast majority of all MA SRECs — are investors like the ones I just described. Some are energy companies, some are purely financial investors, and others are independent local investors who saw a good opportunity to earn a return by putting their money into something positive. But as a group, these are sophisticated professionals who are totally capable of evaluating the opportunities and risks to a potential investment.

Massachusetts has both a right and an obligation with respect to these investors. The right is that the ratepayers and taxpayers of Massachusetts don’t have to bear the financial risk of this investment; if it turns out that investing in SREC-generating solar in MA in 2012 was a bad bet, a money-loser, that’s not their problem. Public officials tried to design the program so that it offered an attractive but not-too-attractive return, with minimal risk. If you then invested, Massachusetts hopes you will make a little money, not a lot of money. But whether you lose your shirt or do quite well, that’s the idea of a market-based incentive program.

The flip side of that is the obligation: in order to encourage a strong, low-risk, attractive investment climate in this kind of market-based program, policymakers have to refrain from changing the program rules unless it is so clearly necessary that all or almost all stakeholders agree. An un-cleared auction this summer would be a crossroads for the solar carve-out; good public policy in this case calls for forbearance. If those un-cleared SRECs end up back in investors’ hands — with a new lease on life — no doubt some will call for some policy intervention to prop up prices, and others will be content to bide their time in the expectation of a seller’s market within a few years. Either way, the rules are the rules.

But that’s just one group of SREC sellers. The problem with this argument is that group two is in a different situation altogether. Group two are homeowners. Though Borrego only works at the commercial and utility scale, I have some direct experience with group two because it includes some friends who, knowing I work in solar, have come to me for advice about going solar at the residential scale in Massachusetts. Actually, “advice” is the wrong word; “translation” is more accurate. These are savvy, sophisticated people, but it’s easy to see that group two is totally different from group one; they have no way to evaluate the future value of a Massachusetts SREC other than to listen to what other people tell them.

When the solar carve-out was being implemented in 2009 and 2010, many stakeholders took to referring to the SCCA as a “floor,” which understandably conjures a strong impression of something through which one cannot fall. To a first approximation, the SCCA was designed to clear, and I know that it is possible to pinpoint this or that statement from someone at the DOER or the Massachusetts CEC that could have been interpreted by a homeowner that they would always be able to sell their SRECs for $285, especially when relayed by a solar installer making a sale.

We may have a problem here. If the SCCA doesn’t clear, it may be a good idea to explore potential policy interventions that provide $285 per SREC, or something close to it, in relatively short order, to small system owners who hold the SREC position on their systems themselves.

Beyond that, though, let’s allow this well-designed program to run its course.

For the moment, though the market is tough, there is no macro-problem: SREC prices are low, solar is getting built, and business is good for local solar companies and national investors alike, which is a great recipe for job creation. If the auction doesn’t clear, we will likely see a quick drop in prices and fresh calls for a change in the regulation. But overreaction would be a mistake, especially given the trauma that the Massachusetts solar community just went through in June, with the quick filling of the 400 MW qualification queue.

The program design is sound and resilient, and in its present form will almost surely deliver 400 MW of solar more efficiently — for fewer subsidy dollars — than any of the other Northeast SREC markets.

A market-based incentive delivery mechanism is just that: a market. Like all markets, this one will go through good times and not-so-good times, and will achieve its objectives by leveraging the value of competitive pressure, which of course can be painful for market participants. But overall, if we take the long view and exercise restraint, this one is going to continue to work out well.

***

Dan Berwick is Borrego Solar’s Vice President of Business Development, based out of the New England regional headquarters. Dan’s primary focus is on shaping Borrego Solar’s unique business strategies and product offerings around the country, with a particular emphasis on the opportunities created by policy and regulation.”

Tags: DOER Solar Clearinghouse Auction, SCCA
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PSE&G Announces Solar Loan Program Extension

Posted July 22nd, 2013 by SRECTrade.

PSE&G has announced that they will begin accepting applications this fall for the Extended Solar Loan Program. This program will finance 97.5MW of solar over the next three years. The program is similar to the previous Solar Loan program with some important changes. Like the previous program, the Extended Solar Loan will offer a loan to system owners which is repaid with either cash or the proceeds of the sale of SRECs generated by the system and sold by PSE&G. Also like the previous program, there will be a floor price on the amount the loan recipient is credited for those SRECs even if the actual sales price falls below that floor price. As is currently occurring in the original Solar Loan Program, ratepayers make up the difference when the market price falls below the floor price.

The major change in this program is that the floor price will not be set by PSE&G, but will be determined by a competitive solicitation. PSE&G will hold 4-6 competitive solicitations each year, offering only a portion of the total capacity of each segment each round. In addition, the loans will all be 10 years, and there is no longer a “call option” for SRECs. Finally, this solicitation will require borrowers to pay administrative costs associated with the loans (fee structure for residential/commercial). There will be a set interest rate of 11.179% for all borrowers.

This program is only available to new, un-built systems. In general the program will contribute to increased oversupply in the NJ SREC market, since it increases the SREC supply and allows systems to be built at a higher price than the current SREC market price supports, with ratepayers making up the difference.

Tags: PSEG
Posted in New Jersey, Solar Financing | Comments Off on PSE&G Announces Solar Loan Program Extension

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: June 2013

Posted July 14th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: June 2013

The following post is a monthly update outlining the megawatts of solar capacity certified to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade serves. All PJM data is based on the information available in PJM GATS as of the date noted. All MA data is based on the information provided by the DOER as of the date noted. This analysis does not include projects that are not yet registered and certified with the entities noted herein.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

Overview of PJM Eligible Systems

As of July 10, 2013 there were 36,115 solar PV and 720 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these, 247 (0.67%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater. Twenty-seven of these projects have a nameplate capacity of 5 MW or greater. New Jersey continues to host most of the larger scale facilities, claiming home to 63.0% of the projects, 17 of 27 facilities, that are equal to or greater than 5 MW. The three largest projects are a 29.1 MW FirstSolar project in MD, the 25.1 MW PSE&G utility pole mount project located in NJ, and the 16.1 MW Mount St. Mary’s project in MD.

NJ Office of Clean Energy Estimated Installed Capacity Through 6/30/13: On July 09, 2013, the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy announced total installed solar capacity reached 1,094 MW; an increase of approximately 15.7 MW over May’s total capacity.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of June 28, 2013, there were 6,326 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 6,165 operational and 161 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 401.9 MW; 221.6 MW of which is operational and 180.3 MW is not operational under the current 400 MW SREC program. Also on July 12, 2013, the MA DOER published a new Pending SQA list demonstrating the projects that are currently under review for a statement of qualification under the current solar carve-out program. There are 1,435 projects (862 operational and 573 not operational) totaling 277.3 MW on this list (21.3 MW operational and 256.0 MW not operational). Fore more information refer to our blog posts covering the current SREC program.

How to Interpret This Table

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 needed approximately 496.7 MW online for the entire 2013 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2013 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.

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

Tags: Capacity, NEPOOL GIS, PJM GATS, renewable portfolio standard, RPS, Solar, SRECs
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MA DOER Updates – Eligible Projects Report

Posted July 12th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

The DOER sent out an email today, Friday, July 12, 2013 announcing two things: 1) the final version of the Pending SQAs list is available and 2) that the RPS Class I Emergency Regulation (225 CMR 14.00) will be posted July 19, 2013 to the Massachusetts Register. A public hearing on the Emergency Regulation will be held on July 26th from 1 to 3 pm at Gardner Auditorium in Boston. The updated Pending SQA list can be found here and the DOER email can be found here.

Some numbers from the Pending SQA list

The Pending SQA list shows that 340.8 MW of capacity was disqualified for failing to show proof of a signed Interconnection Service Agreement (ISA) dated no later than 6/7/2013, but 277.2 MW remain eligible or eligible pending permission to operate (PTO) for the program. If we take into account the 401.9 MW listed as already qualified for the current SREC program, then we come to a rough total of 679 MW eligible or qualified for a program that was originally supposed to be limited to 400 MW! For more information on the 400 MW cap and the current status of the program read our previous posts on the subject.

Eligible or Eligible pending PTO means that a system has submitted paperwork for the current SREC program and is either <100 kW in capacity or is over 100 kW in capacity and submitted a signed ISA dated no later than 6/7/2013.

Qualified means that a project application was submitted before the 400 MW capacity cap was reached with all of the appropriate requirements in place. Of these qualified projects 221.6 MW are operational and 180.3 MW are not yet operational.

We expect some attrition may occur as projects that are not yet operational fail to meet the completion requirement by 12/31/2013 or fail to demonstrate 1) the project has expended 50% of its construction costs or 2) delays occurred as a result of the local interconnecting utility. All projects granted an extension must be constructed by 6/30/2014. This list gives market participants a first glimpse at understanding the upper limit of the capacity that could be allowed under the current program. The DOER will use these numbers to sort out the SREC compliance requirement for 2014, using a formula that takes into account the build rate to date.

Tags: 400 MW Cap, Pending SQA
Posted in Massachusetts, SREC Markets | Comments Off on MA DOER Updates – Eligible Projects Report

July 2013 Auction Results

Posted July 12th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade’s July 2013 SREC Auction closed on 7/02/13. Below are the clearing prices by vintage across the markets covered in the auction.

July SREC Prices	SREC Vintage Year
State	2011	2012	2013*
Delaware	–	$10.00	–
Maryland	–	$125.00	$130.00
Massachusetts	–	–	–
New Jersey	$115.25	$115.25	$120.25
Ohio In-State	–	–	–
Ohio Out-of-State	–	–	$12.00
Pennsylvania	–	$8.00	$10.00
Washington, DC	–	$470.00	$470.00

Notes:
*Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania operate on a June-May energy year. For example, current vintage SRECs are generated beginning in June of 2012.
Green text represents a price increase over the last auction clearing price for that vintage, red text represents a decrease. “-” reflects no sale, which would result if there were no SRECs available for sale in that vintage or there were no matching bids and offers to determine a clearing price.

State Market Observations:

Delaware: Current vintage DE SRECs traded at $10/SREC- down from $35 in the previous auction. The DE SREC market is highly illiquid. Transactions for DE SRECs tend to happen in spurts. Sale opportunities should be taken advantage of when available for systems that are not contracted under Delmarva Power and Light’s SRECDelaware program. The primary buyer for DE SRECs is Delmarva Power and Light (DPL). Most SRECs are sold through DPL’s SRECDelaware program, for which SREC asset owners submit competitive applications in order to obtain 20 year SREC contracts. There continues to be some need for SRECs outside of DPL’s program and compliance buyers with a need for DE sited but non-DPL derived demand will decline over time. SRECTrade administers both the DPL spot auction as well as the software behind the the SRECDelaware solicitations.

Maryland: MD eligible SREC prices saw a slight bump from last month’s SRECTrade auction prices, but MD 2011s did not transact. As SRECs age they tend to become less valuable and opportunities to sell tend to decrease. MD2012s and MD2013s transacted at $125.00/SREC and $130.00/SREC in the July auction.

Massachusetts: The July SRECTrade auction saw no SRECs transact because all unsold SRECs have been moved to the DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse NEPOOL-GIS auction account. The first 2013 SRECs (from Q1 2013 power production) will be minted on July 15th. SRECTrade will hold an auction for those SRECs then. The DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse auction will run its first iteration on July 26th. For the latest info on the MA market read our MA blog posts.

New Jersey: NJ SREC prices declined again in the July auction for the 2012 and 2013 vintages; a logical trend given the oversupply in the New Jersey market. NJ2011, NJ2012, and NJ2013 SRECs traded at $115.25, $115.25, and $120.25/SREC, respectively. Excluding unsold SREC supply carried over from previous vintages, approximately 496.7 MW of annual installed operational capacity is required to meet the 2013 requirement. As of, 6/30/2013, the NJ Office of Clean Energy reported that 1,094 MW had been installed in NJ.

Ohio: Similar to the June auction no transaction occurred for OH sited SRECs this auction period. OH 2013 adjacent vintage SRECs traded at $12/SREC. 2013 is expected to continue to experience oversupply and minimal demand. Most demand for OH Sited SRECs has been fulfilled through long term agreements with large utility scale projects or through long term RFPs with the state’s regulated utilities.

Pennsylvania: PA2012 and 2013 SRECs traded at $8/SREC and $10/SREC respectively, slightly down from previous auctions. SREC oversupply will continue to result depressed SREC pricing for the foreseeable future.

Washington, DC: DC SRECs continue to see high transaction values relatively to the $500 SACP. DC 2012 and 2013 vintage SRECs traded at $470.00/SREC. It is expected the market will continue to experience under supply into the 2013 trading year.

For historical auction pricing please see this link. The next SRECTrade auction for MA SRECs closes on Monday, July 15th at 5 p.m. ET. A joint, PJM and MA solar auction will be held 8/1/2013. To place an order, login here.

Tags: SREC Auction, SREC Prices, SRECs
Posted in SREC Markets, SREC Pricing | Comments Off on July 2013 Auction Results

DC Council to Review Community Net Metering Bill

Posted July 9th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

On Wednesday July 10^th, the Committee of the Whole (COW) will vote on DC’s Community Renewable Act of 2013 (CREA). In the District of Columbia all bills must be authorized by the COW as legal and financially sound before they can go up for a final DC Council vote. The COW, which actually consists of all 13 members of the DC Council is a required intermediary step for any bill before it can go up for official Council vote. In the District of Columbia legislation is proposed by the DC Council and signed off by the mayor.

For more specifics about the Community Renewable Act visit our February blog post which outlines the details of the bill.

Anya Schoolman, a founder of the influential DC Solar Neighborhoods Unite (DC SUN), sent out an eblast this morning requesting that DC stakeholders email the DC Council at dccouncil@dccouncil.us to express support for the legislation.

SRECTrade will continue to track news of this legislation as information becomes available.

**Update! The Community Renewable Energy Act of 2013 passed the DC City Council’s “first reading” and received the unanimous approval of the Council. This bill will not go up for official vote until September. For a good article on the news check out Vote Solar’s post here.

Tags: community net metering, Community Renewable Energy Act of 2013, DC SRECs, Net Metering
Posted in Washington, DC | Comments Off on DC Council to Review Community Net Metering Bill

Massachusetts Emergency Regulations Announced Today

Posted June 28th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

Today, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced the Emergency Regulations for the Solar Carve-out program. Market contributors expected the program to reach its 400MW cap sometime in 2014, yet on May 29^ththe DOER announced the Massachusetts SREC program surpassed its 400MW cap. Today’s announcement outlines MA’s solar development rules under the existing program until the DOER finalizes the second SREC program.

These emergency regulations are consistent with the criteria outlined at the DOER’s June 7^th meeting. A summary of these new regulations are provided below and more details can be found in the DOER’s letter to Solar Carve-out Stakeholders here.

Projects 100kW or less will be qualified under the current program as long as they have received Authorization to Interconnect by December 31^st

If the second SREC program is not completed by December 31st these system can become registered anytime prior to the effective date of the new program

Projects over 100kW must have received a signed Interconnection Services Agreement (ISA) by June 7^th and must have a Receipt of Interconnection by December 31^st

Project ISA’s dated no later than 6/7/2013 must be submitted to the DOER by July 5th
Projects may be granted extensions until June 30, 2014 if they can demonstrate at least 50% of their construction costs are expended by December 31, 2013
Projects can also be granted an extension if they can demonstrate that the missing Authorization to Interconnect is due to a delay from the local distribution company

A current status on the existing Solar Carve-out Program as well as a list of projects that have received their Statement of Qualification under the existing program can be found here. If large projects are listed as pending on the DOER’s Qualified Projects List they have one week from today to make sure all the necessary documents are in order. The DOER will announce the final qualified projects list July 15^th 2013.

These rules will take effect immediately, but are not yet permanent. The DOER has 90 days to ensure these regulations meet the administrative procedure law and will soon announce a plan for a public hearing and comment period as part of that procedure. The DOER will announce the new total MW program cap for the first SREC program in July 2014.

Tags: 400 MW Cap, MA DOER, Massachusetts Solar Carve-out
Posted in Massachusetts, SREC Markets | Comments Off on Massachusetts Emergency Regulations Announced Today