Posts Tagged ‘Capacity’

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – November 2012

Posted December 9th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: November 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently 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 more detailed analysis of supply, demand and price trends in the SREC markets can be found in the SREC Market Monitor, a joint-venture between SRECTrade and Greentech Media’s GTM Research.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

***NJ Update*** NJ Clean Energy Program Installed Capacity as of 12/11/12: Preliminary estimates through November 2012 reached approximately 950 MW of installed solar capacity; a 31 MW increase over the prior month. The number in the table above represents all capacity registered in GATS as of the date noted. The remaining capacity will be registered and receive SREC credit from the date of project interconnection.

Overview of PJM Eligible Systems

As of December 6, 2012 there were 29,870 solar PV and 565 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these, 192 (0.63%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater. Twenty of these projects have a nameplate capacity of 5 MW or greater, up from 19 projects in the last analysis. New Jersey continues to host most of the larger scale facilities, claiming home to 70% of the projects, 14 of 20 facilities, that are equal to or greater than 5 MW. The three largest projects continue to be the 25.1 MW PSE&G utility pole mount project located in NJ, the 16.1 MW Mount St. Mary’s project in MD, and the 12.5 MW ACE Oak Fairton project located in NJ.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of December 12, 2012, there were 4,052 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 4,035 operational and 17 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 157.7 MW, 140.5 of which is operational and 17.3 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 44,956 Q1 and Q2 2012 SRECs have been issued for the year to date. Additionally, 59,890 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 5 months covering July-November 2012.

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.

 

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – October 2012

Posted November 12th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: October 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A more detailed analysis of supply, demand and price trends in the SREC markets can be found in the SREC Market Monitor, a joint-venture between SRECTrade and Greentech Media’s GTM Research.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

Overview of PJM Eligible Systems

As of November 12, 2012 there were 29,303 solar PV and 519 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these, 189 (0.63%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater. Nineteen of these projects have a nameplate capacity of 5 MW or greater, up from 18 projects in the last analysis. New Jersey continues to host most of the larger scale facilities, claiming home to 68% of the projects, 13 of 19 facilities, that are equal to or greater than 5 MW. The three largest projects continue to be a 25.1 MW PSE&G utility pole mount project located in NJ, a 16.1 MW Mount St. Mary’s project in MD, and a 12.5 MW project located in NJ.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of November 13, 2012, there were 3,794 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 3,777 operational and 17 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 154.9 MW, 137.7 of which is operational and 17.3 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 44,956 Q1 and Q2 2012 SRECs have been issued for the year to date. Additionally, 47,361 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 4 months covering July-October 2012.

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 updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

 

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – September 2012

Posted October 16th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: September 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 28,657 solar PV and 468 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 185 (0.64%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 18 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in Maryland is 16.1 MW. The third largest system, at 12.5 MW, is located in New Jersey.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of October 10, 2012, there were 3,218 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 3,206 operational and 12 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 132.0 MW, 123.9 of which is operational and 8.0 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 44,956 Q1 and Q2 2012 SRECs have been issued for the year to date. Additionally, 36,576 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 3 months covering July-September 2012.

Capacity Summary By State

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 based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – August 2012

Posted September 12th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: August 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 28,155 solar PV and 437 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 185 (0.65%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 18 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in Maryland is 16.1 MW. The third largest system, at 12.5 MW, is located in New Jersey.

Delaware: The reporting year 2012 (6/1/12 – 5/31/13) requirement for DE equates to approximately 48,100 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2012 vintage, approximately 40.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of September 11, 2012, 28.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,900 DE2012.  Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: As of September 11, 2012, 72.5 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. A large increase came from a 16.1 MW project Constellation Energy commissioned at Mount St. Mary’s University. The 2012 reporting year requirement for MD equates to approximately 67,310 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of MD2012 vintage, approximately 56.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 41,800 MD2012 SRECs. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 and 2013 reporting years require 442,000 and 596,000 eligible SRECs, respectively. For 2012, this equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long and 496.7 MW for 2013, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, 843.3 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 843.3 MW figure. As of July 31, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 852.7 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Estimates for August 2012 show a total of 876.0 MW. On July 23, NJ Governor, Chris Christie, signed into law legislation to increase the Solar RPS requirements. For details see the following: NJ Governor Christie Signs Bill to Increase Solar Requirements. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 699,200 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs by approximately 257,200 SRECs. Additionally, the second month of RY2013 generation was issued at the end of August. GATS reported a total of 196,700 total NJ2013 SRECs for the compliance year to date were issued; approximately 33% of the current year’s obligation (not considering the eligible oversupply from NJ2012).

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of September 11, 2012, 50.2 MW of in-state capacity and 96.7 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, GATS issued approximately 40,400 in-state and 71,900 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 and 2013 requirements for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 and 78,750 eligible SRECs, respectively. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 and 2013 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 and 65.6 MW would need to be operational all year long within each compliance period. As of September 11, 2012, 222.4 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of September 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 220,000 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period. Additionally, as of September 11, 2012 GATS reported approximately 52,000 PA2013 SRECs were issued.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of September 11, 2012, 24.4 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of September 11, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 18,000 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of September 11, 2012, there were 3,134 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 3,118 operational and 16 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 121.3 MW, 110.4 of which is operational and 10.9 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 14,479 Q1 2012 SRECs were issued on July 15, 2012. Additionally, 53,359 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 5 months covering April-August 2012.

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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 based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – July 2012

Posted August 8th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: July 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 27,262 solar PV and 369 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 180 (0.65%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 17 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2012-13 (6/1/12 – 5/31/13) requirement for DE equates to approximately 48,100 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2012-13 vintage, approximately 40.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of August 7, 2012, 28.5 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. As of August 7, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 4,300 and 32,500 DE2012-13 and DE2011-12 SRECs, respectively.  Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: As of August 7, 2012, 54.6 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. The 2012 reporting year requirement for MD equates to approximately 67,310 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of MD2012 vintage, approximately 56.1 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of August 7, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 31,200 MD2012 SRECs. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 and 2013 reporting years require 442,000 and 596,000 eligible SRECs, respectively. For 2012, this equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long and 496.7 MW for 2013, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of August 7, 2012, 818.3 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 818.3 MW figure. As of June 30, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 831.6 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. On July 23, NJ Governor, Chris Christie, signed into law legislation to increase the Solar RPS requirements. For details see the following: NJ Governor Christie Signs Bill to Increase Solar Requirements. As of August 7, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 689,600 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs by approximately 247,600 SRECs. Additionally, the first month of RY2013 generation was issued at the end of July. GATS reported 95,270 NJ2013 SRECs were issued; approximately 16% of the current year’s obligation (not considering the eligible oversupply from NJ2012).

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of August 7, 2012, 50.0 MW of in-state capacity and 94.0 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. As of August 7, 2012, GATS issued approximately 32,190 in-state and 58,630 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 and 2013 requirements for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 and 78,750 eligible SRECs, respectively. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 and 2013 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 and 65.6 MW would need to be operational all year long within each compliance period. As of August 7, 2012, 220.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of August 7, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 199,000 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period. Additionally, the first month of PA2013 generation was issued at the end of July. GATS reported approximately 26,400 PA2013 SRECs were issued.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of August 7, 2012, 24.2 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of August 7, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 15,000 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of August 10, 2012, there were 2,651 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 2,634 operational and 17 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 109.9 MW, 98.9 of which is operational and 11.0 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. According to NEPOOL GIS, 14,479 Q1 2012 SRECs were issued on July 15, 2012. Additionally, 38,623 MWhs were reported to the MassCEC production tracking system for the 4 months covering April-July 2012.

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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 based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – June 2012

Posted July 10th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: June 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 26,797 solar PV and 351 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 170 (0.63%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 17 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of July 9, 2012, 28.3 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 28.3 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, in April 2012 the DE SREC Pilot Program closed its first solicitation. As of July 10, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 31,700 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: As of July 9, 2012, 53.0 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. MD Governor, Martin O’Malley recently signed into law legislation to pull forward the RPS requirements. The state has seen an average over the last twelve months of 2.7 MW added per month in PJM GATS. While this figure is made up of predominately residential and commercial projects, on July 7, 2012, First Solar announced the groundbreaking of its development of a 20 MW facility in Hagerstown, MD. Additionally, Constellation Energy is in the process of constructing a 17.4 MW facility at Mount St. Mary’s University. As of July 10, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 22,600 MD2012 SRECs. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of July 9, 2012, 789.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 789.8 MW figure. As of April 30, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 770.0 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Additionally, estimates through June 2012 show 831.6 MW of total installed capacity. On June 25 the NJ House and Senate passed legislation to increase the state’s Solar RPS. For details see the following: A Break in the Clouds? – NJ Legislature Passes S1925/A2966. As of July 10, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 671,500 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs by approximately 230,000 SRECs.

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of July 9, 2012, 49.3 MW of in-state capacity and 90.2 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. As of July 10, 2012, GATS issued approximately 24,200 in-state and 44,200 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of July 9, 2012, 215.7 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of July 10, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 197,300 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of July 9, 2012, 24.1 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of July 10, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 11,400 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of July 6, 2012, there were 2,397 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 2,377 operational and 20 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 89.8 MW, 80.3 of which is operational and 9.5 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. 40,034 MWh have been reported to the PTS during January – June 2012. The next issuance period for Q1 2012 SRECs will be on July 15, 2012. For a detailed update on MA capacity analysis as of the beginning of June see the following link.

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – May 2012

Posted June 11th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: May 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 25,753 solar PV and 340 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 161 (0.62%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 16 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of June 11, 2012, 28.2 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 28.2 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, the DE SREC Pilot Program solicitation recently closed its first solicitation. As of June11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 27,300 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of June 11, 2012, 50.3 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. MD Governor, Martin O’Malley recently signed into law legislation to pull forward the RPS requirements. As of June 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 15,800 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out-of-state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of June 11, 2012, 756.5 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 756.5 MW figure. As of April 30, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 770.0 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Additionally, estimates through May 2012 show 802.3 MW of total installed capacity. For more information on the status of the NJ market and information on the expected legislation to adjust the Solar RPS see the following: New Jersey Legislation Update: A2966. As of June 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 558,400 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs by approximately 116,000 SRECs. Given current installed capacity, we estimate the market will be oversupplied by more than 200,000 NJ2012 SRECs.

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of June 11, 2012, 49.0 MW of in-state capacity and 89.3 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in-state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of June 11, 2012, GATS issued approximately 16,400 in-state and 33,000 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of June 11, 2012, 213.2 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of June 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 174,000 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period. For an update on HB1580 to increase the Solar RPS requirements, see the following link.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of June 11, 2012, 24.1 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of June 11, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 8,600 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of June 7, 2012, there were 2,213 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 2,184 operational and 29 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 84.4 MW, 74.2 of which is operational and 10.2 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 73,400 SRECs in 2012. 29,017 MWh have been reported to the PTS during January – May 2012. The next issuance period for Q1 2012 SRECs will be on July 15, 2012.

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – April 2012

Posted May 13th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: April 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 24,784 solar PV and 316 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 147 (0.59%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 14 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of May 7, 2012, 28.0 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 28.0 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, the DE SREC Pilot Program solicitation recently closed its first solicitation. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 23,400 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

Maryland: The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of May 7, 2012, 45.6 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. The MD Senate recently passed legislation to pull forward the RPS requirements. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 10,200 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out of state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of May 7, 2012, 700.2 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 700.2 MW figure. As of March 31, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 730.3 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. Additionally, estimates through April 2012 show almost 760 MW of total installed capacity. For additional information on the status of the NJ market and information on the expected legislation to adjust the Solar RPS see the following: New Jersey SREC Market Update May 2012. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 455,500 NJ2012 SRECs. This figure surpasses the current 2012 compliance year requirement of 442,000 SRECs.

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of May 7, 2012, 46.8 MW of in-state capacity and 87.3 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of May 11, 2012, GATS issued approximately 9,940 in-state and 20,170 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of May 7, 2012, 203.1 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of May 11, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 144,900 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of May 7, 2012, 23.9 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of May 11, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,800 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of May 7, 2012, there were 1,807 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 1,775 operational and 32 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 72.2 MW, 59.5 of which is operational and 12.7 MW not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 62,900 and 73,400 SRECs in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Through the Q4 2011 issuance period (4/15/12), 26,598 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, 20,421 MWh have been reported to the PTS during January – April 2012. Given the SRECs issued through Q4 2011, the 2011 compliance period is short by approximately 36,302. The next issuance period for Q1 2012 SRECs will be on July 15, 2012.

For additional analysis on the current state of the MA SREC market and an outlook on 2012 see the following post published on March 16, 2012: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

Capacity Summary By State

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 needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement with 2012 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.

New Jersey SREC Update May 2012

Posted May 7th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

New Jersey SRECs recently traded at $115.16 per SREC in SRECTrade’s May 2012 auction. This follows the dramatic decline in prices that the New Jersey SREC market has experienced since the beginning of the 2012 energy year. Click here for historic data on SRECTrade’s New Jersey SREC market auction pricing.

What’s going on?

The New Jersey SREC market is oversupplied. The state’s  Solar Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) targets a fixed number of megawatt hours (MW-hrs) needed to be purchased by electricity suppliers each compliance period. A MW-hr is the equivalent of one SREC, so in NJ we discuss the SREC market both in terms of total capacity installed in MW and total number of SRECs available each year. Under the current RPS, significantly more solar has been installed than is necessary to meet the state’s RPS goals for the next several years.

The 2012 reporting year (June 1, 2011 – May 31, 2012) requires 442,000 SRECs. Our March 2012 capacity analysis (scroll down to see the NJ numbers) shows that as of the beginning of April, total registered installed capacity was 670.9 MW with 386,500 SRECs issued. More recent data from the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy shows the installed capacity, as of March 31, 2012, at 730.3 MW. Additionally, approximately 455,000 SRECs have been issued in GATS from solar PV generation through March 2012. This figure, demonstrates that as of the last issuance period, there are more than enough SRECs available in the market to meet the 2012 reporting year requirement of 442,000 SRECs. The Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS) is the organization that all New Jersey PV systems must register with in order to create and transact SRECs.

Another factor is that SREC issuance tends to follow a natural lag due to missing meter reading submissions and delays registering systems with GATS.  Given our experience with this data, it’s reasonable to expect a further bump in SREC numbers through March 2012. Also, April and May 2012 SRECs will be issued at the end of May and June, respectively, and will also add to this year’s total SREC issuance figures.

The additional volume to be issued allows us to project that the market is likely 40% to 50% oversupplied for the 2012 energy year. Lastly, when analyzing the 2013 through 2015 energy year current RPS requirements, the figures show that the market will be oversupplied when taking into consideration eligible excess SRECs rolled forward from prior years and the existing amount of installed capacity as of 3/31/12 currently eligible to produce SRECs. The table below demonstrates this in more detail:

Proposals to stabilize the SREC market

Industry stakeholders are working with the New Jersey legislature to come up with a way to stabilize the NJ SREC market. A NJBiz.com article dated May 3rd, mentions a possible bill proposal by Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway), Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, that would accelerate New Jersey’s solar goals while reducing how much buyers would need to pay for their SRECs if they don’t have enough SRECs in their portfolios at the end of each energy year.

To date, no bill has been made publicly available. Based on the information provided on the NJ State Legislature website, it appears the bill will be slated under the number S1925. The current description listed includes the following, “Revises certain solar renewable energy programs and requirements; provides for aggregating net metering of Class I renewable energy production on certain contiguous and non-contiguous properties owned by local government units and school districts.”

Until then, we must speculate on what the final contents of the bill will be.  An additional consideration is that even if a bill is passed by the NJ legislature, the bill will likely not go into effect until the 2014 energy year which starts in June 2013.

Solar Capacity in the SREC States – March 2012

Posted April 9th, 2012 by SRECTrade.

SRECTrade SREC Markets Report: March 2012

The following post outlines the megawatts of solar capacity certified and/or registered to create SRECs in the Solar REC markets SRECTrade currently serves.

A PDF copy of this table can be found here.

PJM Eligible Systems

As of this writing, there were 23,871 solar PV and 287 solar thermal systems registered and eligible to create SRECs in the PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). Of these eligible systems, 139 (0.58%) have a nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt or greater, of which 14 systems are greater than 5 MW. The largest system, the PSE&G utility pole mount project located in New Jersey, is 25.1 MW, and the second largest, located in New Jersey is 12.5 MW. The third largest system, at 12 MW, is located in Ohio.

Delaware: The reporting year 2011-12 (6/1/11 – 5/31/12) requirement for DE equates to approximately 23,700 SRECs being retired. If all retired SRECs were of DE2011-12 vintage, approximately 19.8 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of April 4, 2012, 27.8 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create DE SRECs in PJM GATS. 11.2 MW of the 27.8 MW currently eligible is from the Dover Sun Park project developed by LS Power. In the 2011-12 compliance year, Delmarva Power has contracted to purchase 9,846 SRECs from the project, of which 7,000 are being held by the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) until 2015-16*. Additionally, the DE SREC Pilot Program solicitation is under way, with a portion of the capacity tiers already closed. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 19,600 DE2011-12 vintage SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior eligible periods may also impact the market should there be a demand for these older vintage SRECs.

DE Chart

Maryland: The end of February marked the first issuance period of MD2012 SRECs in PJM GATS. As of April 4, 2012, 44.0 MW of MD sited solar capacity was registered to create MD eligible SRECs. 2012 Solar RPS requirements are estimated at 56.1 MW or approximately 67,310 SRECs. Legislation is making its way through the MD legislature to pull forward the RPS requirements. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 5,500 MD2012 SRECs. Additionally, all out of state MD systems are no longer eligible to produce MD certified SRECs and their MD certification numbers have been removed from their systems in PJM GATS. Lastly, there are MD sited SRECs available from prior eligible periods, which could be utilized for compliance needs in 2012.

MD Chart

New Jersey: The New Jersey 2012 reporting year requires 442,000 SRECs to be retired. This equates to approximately 368 MW of capacity being operational all year long, assuming all requirements were met with current vintage year SRECs. As of April 4, 2012, 670.9 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create NJ SRECs in PJM GATS. While this figure represents all projects registered in GATS, there are recently installed projects awaiting issuance of a New Jersey state certification number. This delay results in a portion of installed projects not yet represented in the 670.9 MW figure. As of February 29, 2012 the NJ Office of Clean Energy (NJ OCE) reported that 689.1 MW of solar had been installed in NJ. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 386,500 NJ2012 SRECs.

NJ Chart

Ohio: Ohio’s 2012 RPS solar target requires approximately 95,300 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. At least 50% of the SREC requirement must come from systems sited in the state. As of April 4, 2012, 44.9 MW of in-state capacity and 84.0 MW of out-of-state capacity were eligible to generate OH SRECs. A large increase of in state capacity recently came from a 9.8 MW project sited at the Campbell Soup facility in Napoleon, OH. As of April 8, 2012, GATS issued approximately 5,200 in-state and 11,200 out-of-state OH2012 eligible SRECs. Additional SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

OH Chart

Pennsylvania: The reporting year 2012 requirement for PA equates to retiring approximately 49,450 eligible SRECs. If all compliance obligations were met using 2012 vintage SRECs, approximately 41.2 MW would need to be operational all year long. As of April 4, 2012, 187.9 MW of solar capacity was registered and eligible to create PA compliant SRECs. As of April 8, 2012, PJM GATS reported the issuance of approximately 124,500 PA2012 SRECs. Given the oversupply during previous reporting years, there are also SRECs from the 2010 and 2011 reporting years eligible for the PA2012 compliance period.

PA Chart

Washington, DC: DC’s 2012 RPS amended solar target requires approximately 61,180 SRECs to be retired by the end of the compliance period. The figures displayed above demonstrate the capacity of systems eligible to create DC SRECs moving forward. These SREC and capacity figures do not take into consideration the amount of electricity delivered into the district that may be exempt from complying with the Distributed Generation Amendment Act increases, considering some electricity contracts may have been signed prior to the amendment’s implementation. As of April 4, 2012, 23.1 MW of capacity was eligible to generate DC SRECs. Additionally, as of April 8, 2012, GATS reported the issuance of approximately 3,100 DC2012 eligible SRECs. SRECs from prior years are also eligible for the current compliance period, which may impact the current year’s requirements.

DC Chart

Massachusetts DOER Qualified Projects

As of April 5, 2012, there were 1,728 MA DOER qualified solar projects; 1,698 operational and 30 not operational. Total qualified capacity is 64.1 MW, 53.7 of which is operational and 10.4 not operational. Electricity suppliers providing power to the state need to acquire approximately 62,900 and 73,400 SRECs in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Through the Q3 2011 issuance period (1/15/12), 19,257 SRECs have been minted. Additionally, more than 7,000 MWh have been reported to the PTS during Q4 2011. The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) projects approximately 29,000 SRECs to be generated in 2011, leaving the market short approximately 33,900 SRECs. The next issuance period for Q4 2011 SRECs will be on April 15, 2012.

MA Chart

For additional analysis on the current state of the MA SREC market and an outlook on 2012 see the following post published on March 16, 2012: Massachusetts SREC Market Update – March 2012

Capacity Summary By State

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. For example, New Jersey needs approximately 368 MW online for the entire 2012 reporting year to meet the RPS requirement. 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.

*Source: State of Delaware Pilot Program For the Procurement of Solar Renewable Energy Credits: Recommendations of the Renewable Energy Taskforce

Note: SREC requirements for markets without fixed SREC targets have been forecast based based on EIA Report updated 11/15/11 “By End-Use Sector, by State, by Provider”. 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.