Archive for the ‘SRECTrade News’ Category

PV America East Solar Panel Video on RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Posted February 11th, 2013 by SRECTrade.

Last week in Philadelphia, SEIA and SEPA put on the PV America East solar conference. SRECTrade CEO Brad Bowery was featured on a panel with representatives from SunEdison, SolarCity and groSolar titled “Florida to Maine: Mastering Multi-State Solar Opportunities” covering the diverse set of challenges solar firms face entering the East Coast markets. Below is a video hosted by Renewable Energy World that followed up on some of the themes touched on during the 1.5 hour session.

 

SRECTrade and GTM Research Launch Report Series on US SREC Market Dynamics

Posted September 21st, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Greentech Media Press Release Can Be Found Here

SREC Market Monitor provides quarterly financial and demand analysis on the state SREC markets that account for nearly one-quarter of total U.S. PV installations.

SRECTrade and GTM Research today release SREC Market Monitor, the solar industry’s first quarterly report series devoted to covering state SREC markets in the U.S. With SREC programs forecasted to account for nearly 25 percent of the 3.2 gigawatts to be installed nationally in 2012, understanding the risk and opportunity latent in SREC states will be imperative for industry players.

At 72 pages, SREC Market Monitor: 2nd Quarter 2012 provides qualitative state-by-state SREC market analyses, regulatory policy updates affecting these markets, quarterly bid/offer pricing by state, data on SREC supply by state, historical SREC pricing, as well as updated RPS figures for each SREC market. The reports analyze the following markets: Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

FIGURE: SREC Info Map, Q2 2012


Source: SREC Market Monitor: 2nd Quarter 2012

“Over the past five years, SRECTrade has specialized in providing liquidity, transparency and an unparalleled amount of insight into the complex movements of SREC markets across the U.S.,” said Brad Bowery, CEO of SRECTrade. “Our partnership with GTM Research now allows us to go beyond structuring transactions and reach a larger audience who can employ the market monitor to better assess the risk and opportunity of these complex SREC mechanisms.”

“State markets driven by SREC incentives now make up nearly 25 percent of total U.S. installations annually,” said Shayle Kann, VP of Research at GTM Research. “Our quarterly report series with SRECTrade strengthens our U.S. PV foundation and provides our clients with the most timely analysis on the SREC potential, as well as the possible pitfalls, for their businesses.”

For more information on SREC Market Monitor and to purchase a copy, visit www.greentechmedia.com/research/srec-market-monitor.

SAMPLE SREC ANALYSIS BY STATE

  • NEW JERSEY: Trading volume increased in New Jersey as prices stabilized in anticipation of new legislation signed in July. Forward contracts have seen the largest increase in activity as the spot and forward price curves converge.
  • MASSACHUSETTS: After two years of significant undersupply and high SREC prices, rates of installation increased dramatically in Massachusetts, leading to a 50% drop in the 2012 SREC spot price. As market participants adjust to the reality of oversupply, it is clear that the market will trade well below the price support in the early part of the year.
  • MARYLAND: Maryland continues to find support in the legislature for its SREC program. In May, the solar carve-out requirements were moved forward by two years. While this change has kept Maryland from facing a pending oversupply, the market continues to grow at a rate designed to meet requirements under the new legislation.
  • DELAWARE: In April, Delaware launched the pilot of its SREC Procurement Program managed by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) and administered by SRECTrade on behalf of Delmarva Power. The program represents a significant shift in the state’s SREC market that could become a model for other states struggling with SREC volatility. It is the first independent, statewide solicitation for long-term SREC contracts.
  • WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Washington, D.C. market continues to be a bright spot for the solar industry. Given the small, urban footprint of the district, the solar carve-out is an ambitious piece of legislation. Constrained by space, smaller solar installations will dominate this market, naturally preventing the wild swings in supply that have led to volatility in other markets.
  • PENNSYLVANIA: SRECs continue to trade in the $20 to $30 range with an occasional spike. Despite attempts by sponsoring lawmakers, Pennsylvania continues to struggle to garner support for a legislative fix that would accelerate the solar RPS and create demand for SRECs.
  • OHIO: The market was particularly slow in Q2 as 2012 trading activity concluded. In-state demand had been strong over the past few years, but there has been a slowdown as supply has steadily grown to meet that demand. Meanwhile, the OH-adjacent market, which includes SRECs from states that border Ohio, continues to be significantly oversupplied.

Interested in purchasing this quarter’s SREC Market MonitorClick here to learn more.

SRECTrade names Alex Sheets as Director of Environmental Markets

Posted July 2nd, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Sheets brings 5 years of renewable energy market experience at World Energy and SunEdison to SRECTrade’s Environmental Markets team.

San Francisco, CA, July 2, 2012 – SRECTrade, Inc. today announced that Alex Sheets has been named Director of Environmental Markets. Alex joins SRECTrade to expand the firm’s growing presence among institutional project developers and electricity suppliers in the solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) markets.

“Alex has been both a pioneer in environmental markets at World Energy and an expert on managing SREC portfolios for SunEdison, one of the world’s largest solar developers,” says Brad Bowery, Chief Executive Officer for the company. “He brings to our team the perfect combination of electricity supplier relationships and solar development expertise to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers in the SREC markets.”

Prior to joining SRECTrade, Alex Sheets was the SREC Portfolio Manager for SunEdison. In that role, he was responsible for managing one of the largest SREC portfolios in the nation, developing the firm’s trading strategy and executing transactions through a large network of relationships in the energy industry. Alex was also integral in the firm’s development process, advising SunEdison’s project finance team in existing markets and exploring incentive programs in new markets. At World Energy, Alex helped build the publicly traded energy firm’s Environmental Markets desk, exploring carbon and renewable energy credit opportunities throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Alex has an Undergraduate Degree in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master’s Degree in International Trade & Investment Policy from George Washington University.

“We have always approached our work with a level of preparation and knowledge that sets us apart in the SREC market. I think that is most evident in the information we provide in our research notes, blog and newsletters. We’re excited to bring Alex on board because he expands the depth of our knowledge, particularly in structured SREC transactions. I expect that he’ll be a huge asset for our institutional clients as they assess the various options available to them in these markets,” concluded Bowery.

For additional information, please contact: Sam Rust at press@srectrade.com or (877) 466-4606.

SRECTrade, Inc was founded in 2007 with the aim of developing the market for solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) through a transparent, software-focused approach. Today, 60 megawatts of solar projects across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Northeast use the firm’s software to track and monetize their SREC portfolios. In addition to providing asset management and transaction software, the firm offers SREC auctions and brokerage services to its diverse solar client base along with one of the most widely read research blogs in the industry.

S-REC-Trade, S-R-E-C-Trade, Shrek-Trade? What is it?

Posted June 26th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

Summer is here, which means our interns have joined us, making it one of the more playful times of the year. Here at SRECTrade, we are regularly amused by the creative ways people have come to pronounce SRECs and consequently, the name of our website. We’ve heard it all from “coupons” to SWREKs to ES-AR-EE-SEEs to SEX-WREKs (we kid you not) to SWREKSYs, and of course, our favorite: SHREKs. The latter was first coined by a few of our customers (independently) in 2009. Since then, the green ogre has become our (unofficial) mascot. Most recently, we were amused to see someone claim that this was ACTUALLY how it was pronounced! We’d love to toss the guy up on our website, but we don’t think DreamWorks would appreciate that, so we’ve settled for a presence in our office…

To be fair… we don’t necessarily enjoy having to explain it either. Try walking around a conference showroom and telling people that you work at SRECTrade. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Then try getting an investor excited about it. Burton Malkiel famously highlights how company names can (foolishly) affect investor interests in his classic book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street. The “tronics” boom of the early 60s, the biotech boom of the 80s and the dot-com boom of the late 90s all saw companies, that had nothing to do with electronics, biotech or dot-coms, change their names in order to reap the rewards of the higher price-to-earning multiples that their quote-unquote peers were achieving. Don’t be surprised if someday we become something more like SRECBook or InstaSREC or SRECoupon based on what is exciting at the time!

Coming up with a name can either be an art or a science. In our case… it seems the latter prevailed. Back in 2007, InClime, LLC, short for “Innovative Climate Solutions” was set up at Stanford to explore opportunities in the renewable energy space. In late 2007 as the idea that would become SRECTrade was being formed, the platform was named Renewenex, short for “Renewable Energy Exchange.” The founding team would soon figure out that the combination of “e”s and “n”s was a recipe for misspelling and general confusion. Just typing the word Renewenex is next to impossible (try it)! When RECTrade.com was taken, the founders settled on the SRECTrade.com that we’ve all come to know. It may not be the prettiest name in the book, but it doesn’t take long for solar folks to understand what we do and we can guarantee we’ll show up first in search results despite the best efforts of our competitors and would-be copycats!

Finally, for all of you “solar” or “sun” companies out there, fear not… someday, your time will come and Wall Street will fall all over itself for the next hot “solar” company. The solar boom hasn’t happened yet. We’ve fumbled out of the gates thanks to companies like Solyndra, but, whether it’s 5, 25 or 50 years from now, the tech and finance geniuses in this industry will someday figure out how to make solar pervasive across the world. When that happens… we’ll gladly change the website to SolarRECTrade. 🙂

Until that day comes, in case you were wondering… we simply pronounce it “ES-WREK-TRADE,” but feel free to call us SHREKTrade whenever you want!

NREL SREC webinar will feature SRECTrade, NJ BPU and MA DOER

Posted January 17th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

On Wednesday, January 18th at 3pm EST (12pm PST), SRECTrade CEO Brad Bowery will join Mike Winka of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ Office of Clean Energy (BPU OCE) and Mike Judge of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) for a free webinar hosted by Lori Bird of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The webinar will discuss the new NREL Report on the solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) markets. The comprehensive report written by Bird, Jenny Heeter and Claire Kreycik discusses key policy issues that define the structure of these markets and offers a state by state summary of how SRECs are utilized to meet RPS goals in a growing number of states.

Registration for the free webinar is still open and there are already over 500 participants enrolled. Please click here to register.

Among other data, the NREL Report dives into SREC market pricing, tracking spot and forward sales in each state. Below is a chart from the report reflecting spot market pricing on SRECTrade from a 2-year period between 2009 and 2011.

SREC Prices 2009-2011

To learn more, download the NREL Report and/or register here for the webinar at 3pm EST on January 18th.

Wall Street Journal mention of SRECTrade

Posted April 22nd, 2010 by SRECTrade.

One of SRECTrade’s customers was the subject in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled Businesses Wait for Green Energy Payback.  The article describes the opportunities available for small businesses looking to go green and some of the headaches involved in the process.  There is no doubt that the federal, state and local incentives combined make solar an especially attractive investment in New Jersey.  Despite this, solar is not growing at the pace that it should be in New Jersey and other states.  Part of the reason is due to financing challenges to cover the gap between investment and payback.  Although there are some banks that have been willing to take the time to understand the SREC markets, many have simply not wanted to venture into the unknown.  As a result many business owners looking for financing have struggled to get it.  In the example in the article, our client found an angel investor willing to put down the capital for the investment. In a few short years, both our client and his investor will have made a significant return on investment from the sale of the SRECs.  Since the value of SRECs are driven by market fundamentals, as long as would-be solar owners continue to struggle to get financing, the market will be under-supplied and SREC values will subsequently remain high, ensuring that those willing to invest today see the same returns that are quoted in the article.

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Brad Bowery to speak at ASES National Solar Conference

Posted April 1st, 2010 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade CEO Brad Bowery will be speaking at the 39th ASES National Solar Conference May 17-22 in Phoenix, AZ. The National Solar Conference hosted by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is America’s longest-running and leading conference on the emerging trends, technology, and opportunities shaping the new energy economy. Featured keynote speakers include Earth Day Founder Denis Hayes, Executive Director of the Bullitt Foundation, Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Catherine Zoi of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wednesday, May 19
4:00 to 5:30pm
Solar Renewable Energy Certificate Markets: Status and Emerging Issues
Moderated by: Lori Bird, NREL
This session will explore the status of solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) markets in the U.S. and emerging issues. It will cover the status of both compliance markets for SRECs that have emerged as a result of solar set asides in state renewable energy standards as well as voluntary markets for SRECs. This session will cover issues such as the integration of a potential federal solar REC market into existing markets, best practices in tracking and verifying SRECs for RPS compliance, as well as SREC trading and aggregation.
Presentations Include:
Industry Perspective on U.S. SREC Markets
Fred Zalcman, SunEdison
NJ SREC Program Status
Mike Winka, NJ BPU
Status of Solar Energy Set Asides in State RPS Programs
Charlie Kubert, Clean Energy Group
Verification and Tracking of RECs: Issues and Challenges
Steve Wiese, Clean Energy Associates
Trading in the SREC Markets
Brad Bowery, SRECTrade

As CEO of InClime, LLC, Brad Bowery has taken SRECTrade from a website and a concept to one of the most influential businesses in the growing SREC market. He successfully established the online auction in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and DC, and has laid the groundwork for implementations in Ohio, Massachusetts and North Carolina. Brad also developed and implemented SRECTrade’s installer program, establishing relationships with installers and project developers throughout the region and creating the foundation for the firm’s growth. In his role, he is in regular contact with stakeholders in the various state SREC programs, is heavily involved in the day-to-day developments of the market, and oversees one of the most comprehensive blogs on the SREC markets

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in Phoenix, AZ