As SREC Prices Plummet, Lobbyists & Officials Hope to Make Utilities Prop Up Prices by Purchases

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight

With hopes for a legislative fix dashed, the solar sector likely will press for a regulatory remedy to stabilize an industry that has seen prices for the credits owners of solar systems earn for the electricity they produce drop dramatically in the past six months.

When the lame duck legislature ended yesterday without lawmakers even posting a much-debated bill designed to prop up prices for the credits, the attention shifts to the Office of Clean Energy within the state Board of Public Utilities, which has been considering a similar but less aggressive proposal.

The issue arose during a meeting of the agency staff with , with Michael Winka, director of the office, noting that the new Energy Master Plan recommends ramping up the requirement that power suppliers get more of their electricity from solar systems.

An acceleration of the so-called Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) aims to soak up an oversupply of solar credits created by a boom cycle in the sector driven by lucrative state and federal incentives. That has led the price of so-called solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) to drop from more than $600 this past summer to the $200 range.

Without some action by lawmakers or the state, the price is likely to drop below $150 within a week or so, according to Michael Flett, president of the Flett Exchange, which brokers the solar credits. Industry executives say investment in the sector, one of the few growth areas in the state economy, could dry up unless the price of credits stays within the range of $200 to $400.

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