Massachusetts

Spring, SRECs, and RECs

Spring is here. The crocuses are emerging, robins flit about, and solar production is sharply climbing as we enter the peak solar generation months. As with the changing of the seasons, a different transition of sorts is happening for legacy solar owners in Massachusetts as the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate program comes to an end for many in the final months of their 10-year program term, and participation in the broader Renewable Energy Certificate market for solar owners begins.

Here is a brief primer on the program transition. After SRECs, solar owners are eligible to participate in the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) program. This is part of the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) which mandates electric utilities operating in the state purchase an increasing amount of certificates from renewable energy producers (wind, solar, etc.). Production of certificates is typically reported by a solar revenue grade metering company to NEPOOL-GIS. Important note: this assumes a functioning and reporting meter, as well as having agency reporting in place. If you have been receiving payments for SRECs or RECs recently, you likely already have this in place. The RECs can then be brokered. Almost all brokers who help clients transact SRECs, also help clients transact RECs. So, this transition should go smoothly as it is in the broker’s best interest to maintain uninterrupted service.

So what are RECs worth these days? According to recent pricing from brokers, RECs are trading right around $39 per MWh (or $0.039 per kWh). So if you generate 10,000 kWh in a year you could expect about $390 in revenue, excluding broker fees.

To learn more about how Suntility can help you optimize your clean energy facility through the various transitions of solar ownership, contact Suntility through the website or by phone at 508-538-4Sun.

Suntility is your trusted partner in success. Suntility provides renewable energy maintenance services, net metering credit services, owner’s agent services and consulting solutions to optimize facility reliability, performance and value.

By Michael on March 22, 2024

Electricity Rates Are Rising Sharply This Year, Further Highlighting The Value Of Solar

Following the sharp rise in natural gas prices in 2021, electricity supply rates have climbed markedly entering 2022. Eversource’s residential electricity ‘supply’ rates, also known as ‘Basic Service’, or ‘generation’ rates, increased from $0.10753 at the end of December ’21 to $0.15764 at the beginning of January ’22. That represents a 47% increase. National Grid’s residential electricity ‘supply’ rates, also known as ‘Basic Service’, or ‘generation’ rates, increased from $0.09707 at the end of October ’21 to $0.14821 at the beginning of November ’21. This equals an increase of 53%. Higher rates from Eversource and National Grid, highlight the value of solar in both the higher producing warmer months and in winter.

A Natural Gas (Methane) Stove

Strong international demand for natural gas, and continued retirements of coal and nuclear power plants, have increased many regions reliance on the methane fuel. At the same time wind and solar capacity continues to lead new additions to the grid in the United States. For example, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that 63% of all utility-scale electric generating capacity additions in 2022 will be solar (46%) and wind (17%).

In this environment, consistent solar production only becomes more important, and more valuable. To learn more about how Suntility can work with you to optimize your clean energy facility contact Suntility through the website or by phone at 508-538-4Sun.

By Michael on February 15, 2022

Massachusetts Solar Savings Made Simple: Receive Net Metering Credits From A Solar Net Metering Project

Commercial electricity users in Massachusetts are constantly looking for savings, especially during these extraordinary times. The simplest method to achieve savings may be to receive net metering credits from a Solar Net Metering Project.

What is a Solar Net Metering Project? A Solar Net Metering Project is a solar installation in one location, that allocates net metering credits – energy value in the form of a bill credit – to one or multiple electricity accounts located elsewhere. An important note, the solar project and recipient electricity accounts must be in the same service area of the same electric utility.

In return for net metering credits, that offset some or all of their electric bill dollar for dollar, customers of a Solar Net Metering Project typically pay a discounted price for the net metering credits they receive. For a commercial energy user receiving net metering credits from a community-scale Solar Net Metering Project savings typically equal thousands of dollars a year – just for signing a contract. No capital investment, solar panels or maintenance required. Over the term of the agreement savings can well exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

Here are two basic examples, one where a solar project site generates electricity far in excess of what that site could use in a month. It designates to the utility to send that excess value (the net metering credits) to the electric account of a building on a separate property in the same utility territory. The credits arrive on the other building’s electric bill and offset what that building would have normally had to pay that month.Another example is where the solar array allocates net metering credits to multiple accounts monthly.Savvy energy purchasers and budget-conscious energy users across Massachusetts are benefiting from these power purchase arrangements and more stand to benefit as well. Typical customers of Solar Net Metering Projects in Massachusetts include schools, municipalities, manufacturers, and non-profits. These agreements help facilitate renewable energy in Massachusetts as well, helping to ensure the Commonwealth’s energy is from locally generated clean energy.

Are you a commercial electricity user in Massachusetts interested in learning how to save? Contact us at 508-538-4Sun or contact us through our the website here: www.suntilityelectric.com/contact-us-today-for-a-free-consultation-or-for-more-info/

Suntility is your trusted partner in success. Suntility provides renewable energy maintenance services, utility credit services, owner’s agent services and consulting solutions to optimize facility reliability, performance and value.

By Michael on June 4, 2020

Earth Day: We Don’t Have To Live With Air Pollution

This Earth Day brings special significance. We celebrate the 50^th Earth Day, a milestone in itself, at a time when respiratory health has never been on the mind of more people and has never been more important to humanity.

Scientists, researchers and health professionals have long shown the detrimental effects of air pollution on respiratory health. Air pollution causes increased rates of asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), premature death, heart disease and can make coronavirus cases worse.

We don’t have to live with air pollution.

We can make choices to use clean energy for electricity and transportation. Fortunately, the costs of clean energy sources such as wind and solar have fallen dramatically over the past decade, down 34% and 76% respectively, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). New wind and solar are now competitive with new natural gas generation (Bloomberg News). Electric vehicles are now cost competitive with the average price of a new car ($37k according to Edmunds.com), AND have lower operating costs. Solar, wind, and electric vehicles aren’t technological luxuries, they are smart financial choices and good for our health.

Here are a few ways to save money, reduce air pollution and save the planet:

look into getting solar with a free no-contact, or remote, solar assessment from the folks at My Generation Energy, Inc. (508-406-9133);
get an electric vehicle (see Drive Green from the Green Energy Consumers Alliance) or bike commute;
participate in your local utility’s energy efficiency program (Mass Save here in MA); and
compost food waste (especially if you have ‘pay-as-you-throw’ in your municipality).

Contact Suntility Electric LLC at 508-538-4-Sun

By Michael on April 22, 2020

Know Your AOBCs: Alternative On-Bill Credits In Massachusetts SMART Solar Program

Massachusetts has been a solar leader in virtual net metering credits – the ability to generate excess electricity with one account, and send that monetary value to another account to offset electricity usage there. Tens of thousands of solar projects across the Commonwealth use net metering to receive fair compensation for the excess solar energy they generate. With the state having effectively phased out net metering for new large solar projects, a new mechanism under the Massachusetts SMART Solar Program will allow solar projects to send the monetary value of excess production to other electric accounts. This value is called an Alternative On-Bill Credit, or AOBC. While an Alternative On-Bill Credit Generation Unit (solar project) receives the incentive payments from the SMART program, AOBCs can be sent to other accounts and credited on those accounts’ electric bills.

What are AOBCs worth? The value of an AOBC is based on the electric utility’s Basic Service rate. This is also known as the ‘supplier’ or ‘generation’ rate. Typically, in Massachusetts, this value has fluctuated from $0.08 per kWh to $0.14 per kWh. Therefore, if you generate 100 kWh of Alternative On-Bill Credits that is worth somewhere between $8 and $14 worth of credits that can be sent to other accounts, depending on the current Basic Service rate. Those AOBCs can be sent to other accounts within the state, provided that the recipient accounts are in a service territory of the same electric utility.

While AOBCs provide much of the same functionality of net metering credits and have many of the same requirements when allocating credits, there are multiple additional new aspects and nuances to managing AOBCs. Suntility’s expert management and consulting services are helping clients navigate and optimize this new incentive structure and regulatory framework. Massachusetts solar market has always been dynamic. Suntility’s industry insights and technical assistance are a trusted resource for solar owners and those engaged in solar energy deals. Let Suntility help you manage, and know, your AOBCs.

To learn more contact us at 508-538-4Sun

By Michael on January 17, 2019

Don’t Let Your Net Metering Allocations Get Lost In The Utility Shuffle, Work With Suntility

Did you know that Eversource alone has over 1,730 accounts that allocate net metering credits?

Don’t let your net metering allocations get lost in the utility shuffle, work with Suntility.

Suntility’s Net Metering Credit Services are the solution to ensure that your utility credits are flowing smoothly and are being consistently and appropriately applied. This is critical to the economic viability of your solar array. For the largest solar installations, this annual value can easily reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and one or multiple months of errors by the utility can be extremely costly and have a seriously detrimental effect on financial returns. With Suntility’s detailed net metering credit monitoring, validation, reporting, and issue resolution, errors identified trigger immediate Suntility action and resolution. From a decade’s worth of experience in the New England renewable energy markets, Suntility has an extensive track record of recognizing issues quickly and achieving the best outcome for clients.

Suntility currently provides these essential solar asset management services to solar projects in Massachusetts and Vermont, covering the utility territories of Eversource, National Grid and Green Mountain Power.

Suntility’s clients include:

municipalities;
commercial real estate owners;
Fortune 500 energy companies;
financial institutions;
small businesses and more.

Suntility’s expertise in managing complex utility billing processes and tracking thousands of net metering transactions helps you know with confidence that you’re receiving the credits you deserve and that those credits are delivering the proper value.

Furthermore, maintaining a balance of the flow and use of net metering credits among the various allocation accounts can be an on-going challenge for facility owners and off-takers. Improper or outdated allocations can result in stranded credits or significant delays in the use of credits. Regularly re-balancing allocation ratios of net metering credits is an important element of maximizing the value of your net metering facility and is a key part of this Suntility service and Suntility’s value add. To learn more contact us today or go to https://www.suntilityelectric.com/net-metering-credit-services/

Suntility is your trusted partner in success. Suntility provides renewable energy maintenance services, utility credit services, owner’s agent services and consulting solutions to optimize facility reliability, performance and value.

Contact us at 508-538-4-Sun

By Michael on July 18, 2018

Massachusetts Surpasses 2,000 MW Of Solar Installed

Just this week Massachusetts surpassed 2,000 MW of solar installed across the Commonwealth. According to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) this includes 78,646 projects across all 351 communities in the state. https://www.mass.gov/news/commonwealth-achieves-solar-milestone

A Suntility-Managed Massachusetts Solar Array

This news comes the same week that The Solar Foundation released a report detailing that the Massachusetts solar industry lost jobs versus the prior year. The industry cross currents in Massachusetts are likely due to a number of factors including the delays associated with the anticipated new solar compensation program starting in 2018, SMART, as well as the exhausted net metering caps for much of the state, primarily in National Grid territory.

Solar capacity growth in the state is anticipated to continue, however a protracted transition period to the SMART program is expected to slow larger projects as the program starts up in mid-2018.

A renewed focus on in-state solar and wind may also follow the recent turmoil the Eversource/Hydro-Quebec project, also commonly known as Northern Pass, has faced as that project was unanimously rejected by a key New Hampshire siting board. Northern Pass was expected to bring a significant amount of imported hydropower from Quebec through New Hampshire to Massachusetts.

Massachusetts has size-able untapped solar and wind resources close to load centers – where that electricity is used. Locally-sited distributed resources help reduce the need for unnecessary transmission and grid infrastructure.

To learn more contact us at 508-538-4Sun

By Michael on February 9, 2018

Suntility’s Active Remote Monitoring Services

Here at Suntility we monitor your solar installation so you don’t have to, and more importantly, we monitor your solar installation to help ensure that you’re achieving your solar production goals. After all, clean energy value starts with proper system operation. Losing a few weeks or months of solar production can easily cost you thousands of dollars of revenue and savings.

Even though many solar installations have no moving parts, issues can and will come up in the course of solar ownership. For solar a number of issues need to be monitored including: grid disruptions; system disconnections; inverter malfunctions; communication issues; and other potential issues. This means that making the most of your solar investment is significantly aided by the assistance of dedicated, expert solar professionals. Suntility’s skill and efficiency with solar helps take the uncertainty, and complexity out of managing your system.

Photo: Suntility can perform detailed analytics on your solar production, down to 5 minute intervals, with comparable systems in your immediate area – even in the same neighborhood, like these pictured

Clients of our Suntility Active Remote Monitoring Services receive:

– dedicated active remote monitoring of their solar installation 365 days a year;

– detailed comparative analysis to ensure major production losses are avoided;

– alerts regarding issues that are causing major production losses or outages; &

– Suntility’s superior client support.

Clients receive this all for one low annual price. These essential services aid in ensuring that your array is performing optimally and that you’re receiving the utmost standard in client support that every solar owner deserves.

To learn more about Suntility’s comprehensive administration, detection and tracking for your Massachusetts residential, commercial or utility-scale solar installation contact us at 508-538-4-Sun.

By Michael on October 17, 2017

Massachusetts SMART Solar Program Coming In 2018

Massachusetts will soon be embarking on its next and newest solar incentive program, with the aim of continuing the cost-effective development of solar energy in the Commonwealth. Massachusetts has long been New England’s leader in solar installations per year and total installed capacity. The new program, known as the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, or SMART, is currently being finalized through processes at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU).

The purpose of the SMART Program, filed as DOER regulation 225 CMR 20.00, is to encourage the continued development of residential, commercial, governmental and industrial solar units. The growth of these units would not only reduce peak energy demand, and system losses, but it also has the potential to increase grid reliability, along with producing a rise in investment towards new renewable infrastructure. Furthermore, generating more energy from renewables helps contribute to the Commonwealth’s goals to protect the environment by reducing emissions.

As opposed to Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs), which fluctuate based on market conditions, the SMART program is designed to provide more long-term revenue certainty. Over time, new projects that enter the program would enter with lower incentives to reflect the declining cost of solar. The program is intended to provide solar facilities with a single compensation rate that reflects both the energy value and the incentive value. This is different than that of the SREC program, where SRECs are an independent stream of revenue, separate from the actual value of the energy. Therefore, total costs of the SMART Program can be tracked with greater precision and accuracy.

The SMART Program is designed as a 1600 MW declining block program, spanning eight blocks, each containing 200 MW, with base compensation rates decreasing 4% for projects that begin in each successive block.

For current owners of residential and commercial solar, already in the SREC I or SREC II program, nothing will change for them once the shift from the SREC program to the SMART program is initiated, as they will continue to earn SRECs for the remainder of their term. However, new solar owners, not captured by the SREC II extension will be able to participate in the SMART program instead.

Overall, DOER expects the program as designed to support approximately double the solar capacity currently installed in the Commonwealth. By the end of the SMART program, this would result in almost 10% of Massachusetts electricity consumption being supplied by in-state distributed solar generation.

To learn more contact us at 508-538-4Sun

By Michael on September 27, 2017

The History Of Massachusetts’ SREC Programs

The first Massachusetts SREC program, referred to as SREC-I, was launched in January 2010 by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). This SREC program was created as a result of the Green Communities Act of 2008 and the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which arose out of the restructuring of the electricity industry in the late 1990’s. The SREC program serves as a Massachusetts-specific solar carve-out of the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market.

When SREC-I was first established, a capacity limit of 400 MW was put into place. However, this limit was reached early, in the spring of 2013, and the cap was subsequently raised to approximately 650 MW to accommodate transition projects before the commencement of a second SREC program. The DOER then initiated its SREC-II program in spring of 2014 as an incentive mechanism to further encourage Massachusetts to reach its goal of 1,600 MW of new solar installations by 2020.

Image source: Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

The DOER determines the number of SRECs utilities are required to purchase to meet RPS guidelines based on a compliance formula which is subject to a number of factors including how much solar capacity was installed in the previous years. In the Commonwealth, a solar project receives one SREC for each MWh (1000 kWh) it produces. In the SREC-II program certain project types are ascribed greater or less value for their SRECs depending on locational factors, among others. The market value of an SREC varies based on supply (solar production) and the utility compliance obligation in that particular period.

With the SREC program caps being easily met, and the fact that long-term sustainable solutions take time to deploy, Massachusetts is currently in the process of designing its “Next Generation Incentive Program.” The DOER filed an Emergency Regulation on April 8, 2016 with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office to address recent developments in the state’s solar PV market and allow for a transition from the current SREC-II program to the next one. This new solar incentive regime, stemming from a solar law signed by Governor Charlie Baker on April 11, 2016, is expected to begin in mid-to-late 2017.

Overall Massachusetts’ pioneering SREC programs have provided incentives towards creating sustainable solar solutions, promoting cost-effective solar development in the Commonwealth while positioning the state as a national leader in clean energy.

For more stories and articles on Massachusetts SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates) click here:

https://www.suntilityelectric.com/category/srecs/

By Michael on April 20, 2017

1 2 3 4 5 Next »