Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)
SRECs are an additional way to make money from solar installs, that is completely separate from getting paid for the energy. It is the credit for being a renewable energy generator, and there is a market for that because utilities are trying to avoid the fines from not generating enough renewable energy. These have been available for years in other states, and just became available in Virginia due to the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
Solar United Neighbors does a great job describing SRECs.
There are several aggregators who will buy your SRECs, who have good descriptions of SRECs:
Sol Systems
SREC Trade
Sun Tribe Solar
From Solar United Neighbors:
A Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) represents the “green” value of your electricity. SRECs are sold separately from the physical electricity that your solar panels produce. Think of them like a “voucher” that proves that the electricity from your solar panels is renewable. You earn one SREC for every 1,000 kWh (or 1 MWh) of electricity produced by a solar system. These SREC “vouchers” are valuable because many utilities must buy a certain number of them each year to meet sustainability requirements set by the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in each state.
From SREC Trade:
- 1 SREC = 1 MWh of solar electricity
- A 10 kW facility generates around 12 SRECs annually
- SRECs are sold separately from the electricity
In Virginia, an SREC is currently worth about $30-40. The income can be a nice bonus for either a residential or commercial installation.
Note that some people prefer to retain their SRECs rather than sell them. If you retain them, you can still claim to be running on solar energy. If you sell them, you have in essence given up that right to be able to claim that you are truly running on solar energy.
