A year ago, solar panels seemed to be going on every rooftop in New Jersey as energy savings, state grants and revenue generating possibilities abounded. But with the value of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) dropping dramatically this past summer, many entities and private homeowners are struggling to reap the benefits.
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates — which utility companies are required to have — have been one of the main selling points for installing often expensive solar energy arrays. Solar panel owners, be it private residents or public companies, gain one SREC for every kilowatt of energy generated and then sell them on the open market to utilities companies.
However, after reports came out early this summer predicting an oversupply of SRECs, their value bottomed out.
One such report — “End of the Gold Rush,” created by Boston-based solar research company Photon Consulting — said “exponential growth in solar power installation will soon surpass the volume of SRECs that utilities in key states are required to purchase, causing the solar market to crash...”
According to the Flett Exchange, the leading brokerage firm specializing in SRECs, the commodity hit its peak in August of 2009 when the going rate was more than $690 per SREC.
Between that time and July 2011, the value of SRECs stabilized and maintained between $500 and $600, except for a quick drop in April 2010 when they went for $450 each. But in July the value dropped to an all-time low of $151.
“There are people out there that have written articles projecting an oversupply in these credits,” said Bob Campbell, a Downe Township committeeman who has a solar panel system at his home. “They’re predicting this crash in the SRECs, but how can you make such a finite prediction when there are so many variables in the process?”
This change has caused homeowners, schools and municipalities with existing solar systems to worry about the future of their investments and has some scrambling to pay back loans that they believed SREC revenue would cover. It also has some who were considering solar energy projects putting their plans on hold.
Brett Charleston,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, a Franklin Township resident, financed $30,000 to put a nine-kilowatt system in at his house and now has a $540 monthly loan payment. When the system was first put in almost four years ago, the SRECs he sold covered the majority of this cost, but now he is struggling to make it without the same money coming in.
“We had planned on generating and selling the SRECs and I planned on using the SRECs to offset the loan,” he said. “It’s hitting us pretty hard.”
James Filippello, of Elk Township, has a 10 kW system,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. that was expected originally to have a return of around $7,000 per year, but due to the massive drop,Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, it looks as if he’ll be able to recover only about $2,000 per year.
“In 2010, salesmen plotted pie in the sky numbers for SRECs,” he said. “Usually the number was around $675 per SREC, with that number gradually decreasing by about 1.5 percent per year over the 15-year life of the program. Well, in the first year these prices plummeted from $675 to about $200.”
He believes that mega-corporations utilizing vast spaces, such as landfills and warehouses, have driven the private homeowner out of the solar race by supplying more SRECs than needed by the utilities.
“The big-dollar corporations seeing a quick dollar to be made, come to local municipalities selling all type of financial instruments from lease-purchase agreements to straight land lease agreements for a lower electric bill,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.” Filippello said. “In the meantime,the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. people who wanted to be self-sufficient and generate their own electricity or wanted a cleaner environment are getting hosed.”
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates — which utility companies are required to have — have been one of the main selling points for installing often expensive solar energy arrays. Solar panel owners, be it private residents or public companies, gain one SREC for every kilowatt of energy generated and then sell them on the open market to utilities companies.
However, after reports came out early this summer predicting an oversupply of SRECs, their value bottomed out.
One such report — “End of the Gold Rush,” created by Boston-based solar research company Photon Consulting — said “exponential growth in solar power installation will soon surpass the volume of SRECs that utilities in key states are required to purchase, causing the solar market to crash...”
According to the Flett Exchange, the leading brokerage firm specializing in SRECs, the commodity hit its peak in August of 2009 when the going rate was more than $690 per SREC.
Between that time and July 2011, the value of SRECs stabilized and maintained between $500 and $600, except for a quick drop in April 2010 when they went for $450 each. But in July the value dropped to an all-time low of $151.
“There are people out there that have written articles projecting an oversupply in these credits,” said Bob Campbell, a Downe Township committeeman who has a solar panel system at his home. “They’re predicting this crash in the SRECs, but how can you make such a finite prediction when there are so many variables in the process?”
This change has caused homeowners, schools and municipalities with existing solar systems to worry about the future of their investments and has some scrambling to pay back loans that they believed SREC revenue would cover. It also has some who were considering solar energy projects putting their plans on hold.
Brett Charleston,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards, a Franklin Township resident, financed $30,000 to put a nine-kilowatt system in at his house and now has a $540 monthly loan payment. When the system was first put in almost four years ago, the SRECs he sold covered the majority of this cost, but now he is struggling to make it without the same money coming in.
“We had planned on generating and selling the SRECs and I planned on using the SRECs to offset the loan,” he said. “It’s hitting us pretty hard.”
James Filippello, of Elk Township, has a 10 kW system,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. that was expected originally to have a return of around $7,000 per year, but due to the massive drop,Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, it looks as if he’ll be able to recover only about $2,000 per year.
“In 2010, salesmen plotted pie in the sky numbers for SRECs,” he said. “Usually the number was around $675 per SREC, with that number gradually decreasing by about 1.5 percent per year over the 15-year life of the program. Well, in the first year these prices plummeted from $675 to about $200.”
He believes that mega-corporations utilizing vast spaces, such as landfills and warehouses, have driven the private homeowner out of the solar race by supplying more SRECs than needed by the utilities.
“The big-dollar corporations seeing a quick dollar to be made, come to local municipalities selling all type of financial instruments from lease-purchase agreements to straight land lease agreements for a lower electric bill,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.” Filippello said. “In the meantime,the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs. people who wanted to be self-sufficient and generate their own electricity or wanted a cleaner environment are getting hosed.”
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