Understanding SRECs, with Hassan

Didn’t use Solar States for your installation, but need to register SRECs in NJ or PA? We can handle it.

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Understanding SRECs

What’s an SREC?

SRECs are a common incentive for solar array owners. They stand for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (or Credits). For every megawatt-hour (MWh) of energy produced, 1 SREC is generated. These certificates can be bought and sold on trading platform, or aggregators (we use SRECTrade). Aggregators act as intermediaries between utilities meeting RPS requirements and customers selling their SRECs. They bundle multiple solar systems to attract energy suppliers.

Explain like I’m 5: SRECs Edition 

For all of you 5-year-old readers out there, an SREC explanation:

Imagine the sun is like a big, bright cookie factory in the sky. Every time your solar panels (which are like special cookie catchers on your roof) catch sunlight, they make energy cookies. Now, for every 1,000 energy cookies your panels make, you get a special golden ticket called an SREC, which stands for Solar Renewable Energy Credit.

You can take these golden tickets and sell them to electricity companies. These companies need these tickets to show they are using clean energy from the sun instead of dirty energy that can hurt our planet. When you sell your golden tickets, you get money, which is like getting paid for helping to keep our Earth clean and happy!

Why are SRECs a thing?

SRECs exist in states with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), which mandate a percentage of energy from renewable sources. Some states include a “solar carve-out” in their RPS, requiring a portion of this energy to come from solar power. This creates the need for state markets to incentivize SRECs.

 

SRECs by State

Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) was established in 2004. The state has modest clean energy goals, with an AEPS solar carve-out of 0.5%. As of this writing, PA SRECs trade at $45.50-$50. Each state’s solar carve-out is different. “New Jersey’s SREC market is the largest in the nation. In July 2012, the state passed legislation to pull forward the RPS requirements from the 2014 energy year to account for the substantial amount of solar capacity installed in the state. In May 2018, the state increased the RPS requirements again.” As of this writing, a SREC in NJ is valued at $209.

SRECs are not available in every state. They’re available in : District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. All of the details your heart desires on each State’s program available here.

 

SREC Registration in PA and NJ

SREC registration is a months-long process. It’s full of paperwork (hooray) and waiting (weeee), but Solar States handles just about everything. Here’s how we do it:

Hassan’s SREC Q&A

``Hassan, what do you wish every customer understood about SRECs?``

What’s important to know about SRECs is that the approval process can sometimes take a while, depending on which state you’re in and how many applications they’re dealing with. But here’s the cool part – don’t let that get you down! You’ll actually get paid retroactively for the energy your system generates, even before they give you the official SREC thumbs up. So, you’ll still be raking in the rewards while they’re doing their thing.

``What are the 3 most common issues you encounter when registering SRECs?``

  • Bad or no photos of the solar array: One common challenge is the absence of good photos of the solar array. To address this, at Solar States, we make sure our installation teams capture all installation photos before leaving the job site.
  • Customer address or name discrepancies: Attention to detail is crucial when dealing with SRECs, and one common issue is discrepancies in customer addresses or names. It’s essential to ensure accuracy when registering SRECs.
  • Missing information for solar customers we didn’t install: Sometimes, we encounter challenges when dealing with solar customers we didn’t initially install. They may not have all the necessary information about their array, such as a certificate of completion or the actual DocSet (site plans). Additionally, they might not have access to their monitoring app login, or they may forget it, which can create hurdles in the SREC process.

Questions?

About Solar States

Solar States is a solar installer and educator based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We are a certified B-Corp and Best for the World Nominee in both 2018 and 2019. We can install solar on any roof – residential or commercial – in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Maryland. If you have any questions about a transition to a sustainable energy system for your property, we can answer them.

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