Media / Press Releases

SWNJ TAKES ACTION AGAINST DEFEATED SOLAR BILL WITH SREC GUARANTEE PROGRAM

January 12, 2012

An update on solar legislation (s-2371) introduced by Senator Bob Smith.

As of January 5, 2012 the New Jersey Telecommunications and Utilities Committee passed Bill S-2371 on to the State’s full legislature for its approval. The essence of this bill would require the state’s electric utilities to purchase more solar produced energy, thereby absorbing the oversupply of SRECs due to the over building of solar in the State in the past 12 months. During this time, solar developers have flooded the market by installing an average of over 30 MW a month in the last year compared to the build requirement of only 10 MW a month. The bill also lowered fine levels levied against power companies if they did not produce a certain amount of solar power each year. The potential savings to homeowners, municipalities and business’ would have been close to 1 billion dollars over the course of the legislation. 

The Governors office supported an increase in the RPS to stabilize the market. The Christie administration suggested having all non-net metered projects seek Board of Public Utility, BPU, approval. These projects would not be approved if they had a negative effect on the SREC market. On Monday, January 9, 2012, the last day of the lame-duck session, bill S-2371 failed to be posted and will be carried forward to the next legislative session. The deal fell apart because of a disagreement on how to handle grid connected projects. Unfortunately the issue was too complicated to be resolved in the short amount of time remaining in the last day of the legislative session.

In order to alleviate future customer fears of the volatility of the SREC market, Steve Masapollo, CEO of SolarWorks NJ, has introduced a SREC Guarantee program whereby all 2012 residential clients will have the assurance of a $250 SREC price for the next 2 years. “We want the public to know that we are 100% behind solar electricity generation and we will continue to lead the industry in our commitment in going solar electric.” A homeowner with a 10 kW system would be able to receive as much as an additional $900 per year for their SRECs. The SREC Guarantee will also apply to Commercial projects but will have SREC value and duration determined on an individual project basis. SolarWorks NJ is the first solar energy company to offer an SREC Guarantee.

Please contact SolarWorks NJ for more information on the SREC Guarantee program. Please note: SREC Guarantee value is subject to change and is determined on the current market. The program does not apply to PPA/leasing structures.