Solar Term of the Month: SRECs or Solar Renewable Energy Credits.

We posted last week about the price of SRECs - so it makes an excellent choice for our Solar Term this month.  

The state of Pennsylvania, as well as many other states, requires electricity suppliers to provide a percentage of their electricity sales from solar generation – this requirement, stipulated through legislation, is called a Renewable Portfolio Standard. If the electricity suppliers and distributors do not meet their requirement, they must pay a 

penalty called an Alternative Compliance Payment.

This means that electricity suppliers/distributors will a) Have to construct large solar arrays to provide sustainable electricity or b) More likely, they will purchase this power in the form of “Credits” from homeowners and businesses that have solar installed on their homes and facilties. If you own solar photovoltaics, you produce SRECs, which can be sold on the open market like any commodity. Price per SREC varies and fluctuates with the market, and will continue to do so, but current pricing is approximately $125/SREC (you can visit www.srectrade.com for info. on current pricing and recent sales!) SunPower will take care of registering your system and aggregating your SRECs.