The Massachusetts SREC market is unique among SREC markets in that it is underlain by a price support mechanism called the DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction. The DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction is held no later than July 31st in years in which SRECs are deposited into the DOER auction account. The rules of the MA SREC market require that unsold SRECs be placed in the DOER auction account by June 15, 2013. SRECs placed in the DOER’s auction are sold at a set price of $285/SREC, after DOER administrative fees.

The DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction does not require buyers to participate and purchase SRECs for any volume, but a variety of compliance incentives encourage participation. For this reason, market participants view the price support attributes of the DOER auction with caution. There is no guarantee that SRECs placed in the DOER auction will be sold.  After multiple rounds of the auction, if any unsold SRECs remain they are transferred back to the original owner. These unsold SRECs, now no longer eligible for future DOER auctions, are reissued with a new useful life in the following three compliance periods. For example, a 2012 SREC not sold in the July 2013 DOER auction will be reissued to the original owner with eligibility in 2013, 2014, and 2015. This reissued SREC must be transacted in one of these three compliance periods.

The MA SREC market is over-supplied for the first time in the short history of the MA solar program (the MA SREC market started in 2010). There are approximately 45,000 more MA2012 SRECs available than are required, all of which will likely be deposited in the DOER Solar Credit Clearinghouse Auction. All client’s utilizing SRECTrade’s EasyREC services will have any unsold MA2012 SRECs automatically transferred into the DOER auction account. Any sellers managing their own NEPOOL GIS account should know that their SRECs need to be manually transferred to the DOER auction account on or before June 15, 2013. For instructions on how to do so click here.