Archive for the ‘SREC Markets’ Category

New Jersey Governor Murphy Signs SB S-4275, Resolving Transition Incentive “Kink Year” Issue

Posted January 22nd, 2020 by SRECTrade.

On Tuesday, January 21st, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Assembly Bill 6088 (AB-6088) / Senate Bill 4275 (SB-4275) into law in a victory for New Jersey “Transition Incentive” program stakeholders. A New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) order last month established that the Transition Incentive program’s structure will feature a factorized, fixed-price, 15-year Transition Renewable Energy Certificate (TREC), but did not finalize the pricing schedule that will be used throughout the program.

SB-4275 helps address a “kink year” component in one of the pricing schedule options by allowing the BPU to increase costs to electricity customers in energy years (EY) 2022-2024, such that the average cost to electricity customers from EY2019-2024 does not exceed a 9% cost cap during EY2019-2021 and a 7% cost cap for EY2022-2024. This cost cap flexibility allows the BPU to set higher TREC prices in the near term while still remaining below the legislated cost cap. Prior to this legislation adding flexibility, the BPU had proposed drastically lower TREC pricing during the first three “kink years” of the program, followed by higher pricing in later years.

For example, the two pricing schedules that the BPU had considered are: 1) a flat 15-year price of $152 and 2) a lower price of $65 for the first three years followed by a higher price of $189 for the last twelve years. The BPU still has not finalized some key aspects of the TREC program, including the final price levels. SRECTrade will continue to monitor the development of the Transition Incentive program and provide updates.

Tags: Board of Public Utilities, Cost Cap, New Jersey, NJ, Transition Incentive, TREC
Posted in New Jersey, SREC Markets | Comments Off on New Jersey Governor Murphy Signs SB S-4275, Resolving Transition Incentive “Kink Year” Issue

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Approves Solar Transition Incentive Program

Posted December 18th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On Friday, December 6th, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) issued an order approving a new SREC program to aid in the transition from the current SREC program to the yet-to-be-determined “Successor Incentive” program. This “Transition Incentive” program will feature a factorized, fixed-price, 15-year Transition Renewable Energy Certificate (TREC). All projects that submitted complete SREC Registration Program (SRP) applications after October 29, 2018, but do not reach commercial operation at the time the BPU determines the 5.1% target has been reached, will qualify for TRECs.

The BPU will hold a cost-cap proceeding in early 2020 to finalize the annual value of the fixed-price TREC. Specifically, the BPU will evaluate two pricing scenarios: 1) a flat 15-year price of $152 and 2) a lower price of $65 for the first three years followed by a higher price of $189 for the last twelve years.

The different TREC project types and factorizations are displayed below:

TRECs will have a useful life of two energy years, including the energy year in which they were generated. If a TREC is not issued or sold during its two-year useful life, it will become an NJ Class I REC. The order further clarifies that Transition Incentive projects will be eligible to generate NJ Class I RECs after their 15-year TREC Qualification Life.

The BPU order also directs electric distribution companies to procure a TREC Administrator. Although the exact mechanics for how TRECs will be transacted are still being determined, the TREC Administrator will ultimately purchase all generated TRECs and allocate them to load-serving entities for compliance based on their market share of retail sales.

SRECTrade will continue to monitor the development of the final TREC levels and the Successor Incentive program.

Tags: Board of Public Utilities, BPU, New Jersey, NJ, Transition Incentive, Transition Program, Transition Renewable Energy Certificates, TRECs
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NJ SREC Market Update: Market Nearing Closure and Transition Program

Posted December 2nd, 2019 by SRECTrade.

The Clean Energy Act, signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in May 2018, states that new rules and regulations will be adopted to close the NJ SREC program upon attainment of 5.1 percent of the kilowatt-hours sold in the state by solar electric power generators. Based on recent build rates, the NJ SREC market is expected to reach the program’s maximum capacity of 5.1% by mid-2020, at which point, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJ BPU) will transition the state to a new program. While the NJ BPU released a straw proposal in 2018 on the anticipated market closure, the exact strategy of determining the 5.1% attainment and eventual transition program is yet to be confirmed.

The enclosed analysis further details the implications of this market close and SRECTrade’s estimated market dynamics through 2022. The analysis assumes flat load through 2022 and utilizes a capacity factor of 12.56%, the approximate running average capacity factor across NJ certified solar facilities since 2012. In each depicted build scenario, the market will close to new capacity once 3,460 MW is hit, or on June 1, 2021, whichever occurs first.

On September 6, 2019, the NJ Board of Public Utilities (“BPU”) released a memo that detailed Basic Generation Service Provider (“BGS”) load exemptions in 2019. This exempt load dynamic has an impact on market demand through EY 2023 and is further detailed in the analysis.

Data from the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy (“NJOCE”) shows that solar build rates have increased slightly over the past six months in comparison to the past twelve months, increasing by 3.6% in that time frame. With this data from NJOCE and credit data from GATS, SRECTrade estimates that the market is over-supplied by 7.5% for the 2020 Energy Year. Assuming flat load growth and no drastic increase in build rates, the market will likely become under-supplied in 2021 and 2022.

In line with this market dynamic, NJ SREC pricing has seen an upward trend over the past twelve months. The enclosed analysis further details the current standing as well as future scenarios for the NJ SREC market.

Posted in New Jersey, SREC Markets | Comments Off on NJ SREC Market Update: Market Nearing Closure and Transition Program

SRECTrade Sponsoring Solar Focus 2019

Posted November 18th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

Join SRECTrade and MDV-SEIA at the annual Solar Focus Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on November 20th – 21st. This year’s conference will focus on how the solar industry can continue its recent policy successes.

Solar Focus brings together solar professionals and industry leaders from across the country to share ideas, build partnerships, and envision the future of solar power. In addition to panels, there is a Women in Solar Breakfast, job fair, and many more networking opportunities.

More information on the conference can be found here.

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Massachusetts DOER Announces Final 2020 SREC Minimum Standards

Posted September 16th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On Friday, August 30th, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced the final 2020 SREC-I and SREC-II Compliance Obligations and Minimum Standards. This announcement follows the results of the SREC-I and SREC-II Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auctions. The final announcement differs only slightly from the preliminary announcement in July.

Solar Carve-out (SREC-I)

The DOER has determined that the Final 2020 Compliance Obligation for the SREC-I program will be 748,584 MWh and that the Minimum Standard will be 1.6116%. The 2020 Minimum Standard for load under contracts signed before June 28, 2013 will be 0.9867%. The Determination of the CY 2020 Total Compliance Obligation and Minimum Standard, published by the DOER, outlines how this Minimum Standard was calculated. Both Minimum Standards are slightly lower than their preliminary counterparts, as a result of the updated Solar PV Capacity Factor used to estimate production.

Solar Carve-out II (SREC-II)

The DOER has also calculated the Final 2020 Compliance Obligation and Minimum Standard for the SREC-II program, which are 1,023,737 MWh and 2.2040%, respectively.

In addition, the DOER calculated the 2020 SREC-II Compliance Obligation and Minimum Standard for load under contracts signed after May 8, 2016 as 1,765,527 MWh and 3.8011%, respectively. The final SREC-II baseline Compliance Obligation and Minimum Standard are slightly lower than their preliminary counterparts, primarily due to two reasons:

A reduction in the average capacity factor applied to estimated generation from 13.35% to 13.08% (using nine years of Massachusetts Production Tracking System production data)
An improvement to the SREC-II production estimation formula to account for the loss of partial MWhs left over after a reporting period, since these partial MWhs do not result in the creation of partial SREC-IIs

Tags: Compliance Obligations, Department of Energy Resources, DOER, MA, Minimum Standards
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SRECTrade to Speak at REM 2019 on September 5th

Posted September 3rd, 2019 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade’s CEO, Steven Eisenberg, will be speaking on a panel at the Renewable Energy Markets (REM) conference on Thursday, September 5th in San Diego, CA. The panel, Clean Transportation Policy: EVs, LCFS, RINs and More, will take place from 3:00 – 4:00 PM (PT).

As the transportation sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, policies and programs aimed at cleaning up this sector are becoming increasingly predominant. The Panelists will explain these programs in terms of their effectiveness and how they will interact with and affect other markets and sectors, in particular the voluntary renewable electricity market.

Speakers include:
William Murtha, Argus Media (Moderator)
Josh Bledsoe, Latham & Watkins, LLP
Steven Eisenberg, SRECTrade
Arpit Soni, California Air Resources Board (CARB)

A full conference agenda can be found here.

Posted in Low Carbon Fuel Standard, SREC Markets | Comments Off on SRECTrade to Speak at REM 2019 on September 5th

SRECTrade to Speak about CA LCFS Market at EV Event in Diamond Bar, CA

Posted August 21st, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On August 22, 2019, Steven Eisenberg, SRECTrade’s Chief Executive Officer, will be speaking at a Voice of the Customer Event hosted by CALSTART, a non-profit organization in the clean transportation industry. The event will focus on the application and deployment of Electric Class 5 Trucks and Yard Tractors. The meeting will take place at the South Coast Air Quality Management District office from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

Steven will speak about the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a market based program that encourages the adoption of low carbon intensive fuels and vehicles. SRECTrade works with participants across the LCFS market, providing credit portfolio management and transaction services to clean fuel fleet operators and other credit generators.

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MA 2018 Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction Result Announcement

Posted July 26th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On Thursday, July 25th, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced that all of the MA2018 SREC Is and SREC IIs submitted to the auction account were transacted in the first round of the Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction (SCCA).

A total volume of 9,780 SREC Is were bid on across 21 unique bidders, creating more than sufficient demand to clear the available auction volume of 632 SREC Is.

A total volume of 63,388 SREC IIs were bid on across 21 unique bidders, creating more than sufficient demand to clear the available auction volume of 4,626 SREC IIs.

DOER and EnelX are in the process of certifying and finalizing the auction results. More information will be made available on the SCCA webpage in the coming weeks.

If SRECTrade submitted SRECs to the SCCA on your behalf, we will provide further notice on the status of your transaction once the DOER and EnelX provide us with finalized auction results.

Tags: MA, Massachusetts, SCCA, Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction, SREC II, SREC-I
Posted in Massachusetts, SREC Markets | Comments Off on MA 2018 Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction Result Announcement

Ohio Governor Signs Nuclear Bailout Bill Into Law; RPS Gutted

Posted July 23rd, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On July 23rd, the Ohio House of Representatives approved legislation (HB 6) to subsidize two ailing nuclear power plants owned by bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions and eliminate the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) at 8.5% in 2026. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law shortly thereafter.

The Bill provides an average of $150 million per year in funding to the two nuclear plants from April 2021 through the end of 2026. In addition, the Bill will deliver $50 million per year in funding to two large, coal-fired power plants owned by Ohio Valley Electric Corp., through additional rate-payer charges.

With regards to the state’s RPS, the Bill lowers the renewable energy target from 12.5% to 8.5% by 2026, and eliminates the solar-carve out all-together from 2020 onward. As such, solar assets currently registered in the OH SREC market will no longer produce OH SRECs after 2019. Please feel free to reach out to the SRECTrade team for more information regarding this transition and impact on your eligibility.

Posted in Environmental Policy, Ohio, SREC Markets | Comments Off on Ohio Governor Signs Nuclear Bailout Bill Into Law; RPS Gutted

Ohio State Senate Passes Amended Nuclear Subsidy Bill, Freezing the State’s RPS by 2026

Posted July 18th, 2019 by SRECTrade.

On July 17th, the Ohio State Senate passed an amended version of House Bill 6, which provides subsidies for two nuclear plants owned by bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions, coal plants, and utility-scale solar. Just as notably, the bill calls for a permanent freeze of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) at 8.5% by 2026, a damaging blow to the state’s renewable energy sector. The Bill would also completely eliminate the state’s solar carve out beginning in 2020, gutting a key incentive mechanism for distributed generation solar in the state. Although it is still unclear, ohio-sited solar assets previously participating in the Ohio Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program, would likely be eligible for the Pennsylvania Tier I REC and Ohio REC market, should the Bill go into law.

After the Ohio House passed a version of House Bill 6 on May 29th, the Bill moved to the Senate where it was met with controversy by lawmakers and stakeholders alike. After a number of amendments to the Bill, including the removal of a provision that would have stunted wind development, it passed on Wednesday morning on the Senate floor. It now goes to the Ohio House for a concurrence vote, where it is expected to be taken up on August 1st.

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