November: 1 SREC

1 SREC generated in November, sold in auction for $640.00.

That bumps our all-time SREC income to $9770.09. Thirty bucks short of ten grand!

Great Practical Information Here! (Not from me)

Hey Everybody,

Wasn't I just saying that the best stuff on this blog is in the comments from really smart people?

Well, here's a great comment that I thought was post-worthy. It's from a solar owner/operator in Pennsylvania (where they're really getting in gear on solar energy). There is a lot of ground-level, practical information here that you just don't see on all the glamorous web sites and presentations.

Thanks, Pennsylvania 9.84 kw system person!





















I've been reading this blog since we installed our 9.84 kW system in PA earlier this year (early May). I love our system for how well it works and looks, but we've had numerous problems along the way. I'd like to share some of these for those installing in PA.

1) It took FOREVER for us to pass our electrical inspection. Because of the large number of systems being installed, there are independent inspectors inspecting solar only. This is great to ensure that our system looks and is installed as it should be, but our installer seemed confused/unprepared for the scrutiny given our system--unfortunately this all came at the price of over a month of inspections and reworking of our system...ugh!

2) Our installer powered up our system before PECO installed our second meter for net metering. Our meter happily ran back and forth--we were so happy, until we got our electric bill. Unfortunately, PECO only reads clicks of a reference point on analog meters, so every click forward (or backward) was billed. We explained our problem to PECO--they didn't care because our installer shouldn't have powered up the system. Our installer argued we could sell the SREC generated during this time to offset the electric cost--we couldn't. Until you are interconnected in PA, the system can not be registered, if it's not registered any SREC generated does not count.

3) Getting to sell SRECs takes time. We are using SREC Trade for our SRECS. Public record show our system was registered in early July (whether this is the date SREC can count or the date of registration I am not clear) but I am clear that registering, setting up a GATS account and getting to the point we could enter our production took until OCTOBER. We were not able to sell SRECs until the November auction even though we provided all our system info before install. Keep this 5-6 month window in mind as you budget repaying that really big install bill.

4) Speaking of that bill... Our system was installed using Tier I Sunshine funds. It is currently December and I still have not received my state rebate check. I can't seem to get any information out of the PA Sunshine office other than all the completion paperwork has been received. To be fair to the state of PA, my installer was slow to get all the paperwork in order, but the state acknowledges they have had everything since August and according to my installer we've been cleared to be paid since October. Apparently that check is being written one letter/number a day--hopefully we'll see that check before our one year install anniversary.

5) Our electric bills (PECO) do not go negative. I am still trying to figure everything out, so if anyone knows more ... We received readings of our 'out' meter and 'in' meter monthly. As long as the net production equals or exceeds our use in a month we are only billed a customer fee. My understanding is that if our usage exceeds production in any month we will receive a bill for the difference (even though we have a bank of over 1750 kWh at this point) and that our excess will be paid out (wholesale rate I believe) at the end of the solar year. I am not sure we will reach a point to test this hypothesis-- system works great to supply our usage needs and we are still producing an excess (this is the brightest point of our solar adventure). And yes...plans are in the works to change over more of our home to use more of our clean, 'free' electric supply. Of course, a large chuck of our money is tied up waiting......

Hope this useful to someone out there, if only to make you feel better about your own situation.

Read the Comments!

I want to mention to any and all readers that it's a good idea to read the comment trails in addition to the main posts. I try not to spread disinformation, and if I get something wrong I try to adjust the original post for accuracy. But there are so many readers who know way more than I do about all of this that it's very informative to read what THEY have to say.

For instance, I've learned a lot by reading the comments to this post from a few weeks ago about my negative electric bill.

I Thought the Eagles were Already Green!

Way cool, man. The Philadelphia Eagles announced a plan to install green energy systems at Lincoln Financial Field on a scale that will allow them to generate enough power that they (LIKE ME) will export extra energy onto the grid. They're talking solar panels, wind turbines and a biodiesel/natural gas power plant. [I don't understand the natural gas part, that sounds like importing energy to generate other energy with, but whatever.]



Eagles Plan to Take the Gridiron off the Grid

I have 48 solar panels and I thought I was badass. They're going to install 2,500 of them.

I'm a lifelong Skins guy but I might have to become an Eagles fan. Not really.

One October SREC Sold

Sold an October SREC in the November 5 auction -- $640.

This is a great time of year to be generating energy. I've been admiring the reverse-spin on the meter for the past few weeks.

What a Negative Electric Bill Looks lIke

This bill is pretty cool. The amount we used was less than the amount generated and exported onto the grid. Hence, a negative electric bill ($39.29 credit). We get bills like this whenever the air conditioner isn't running.

SREC Sales History

We generated and sold one SREC for September 2010, for $640.00.

Here's a running total of SREC sales over the 1+ years we've been up and running:

Fall 2009 (sold at auction in December): 4 SRECs @ $ 660 = $ 2640
December 2009 (none generated)
January 2010 (sold at auction in February): 1 SREC @ $ 660 = $660
February 2010 (sold at auction in March): 1 SREC @ $ 665 = $ 665
March 2010 (none generated)
April 2010 (sold at auction in May): 2 SRECs @ 665 = $ 1330
May 2010 (sold at auction in June): 1 SREC @ 665 = $ 665
June 2010 (sold at auction in July): 1 SREC @ 665.04 = $665.04
July 2010: (sold at auction in August): 1 SREC @ 600.00 = $600.00
August 2010 (sold at auction in September): 1 SREC @ 625.65 = $625.65
September 2010: (sold at auction in October): 1 SREC @ 640.00 = $640.00

Grand Total: 13 SRECs sold for a total of $ 8,490.09.