How to Participate
Who Should Register
In order to be eligible to generate Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs), solar project owners must enroll in the SREC Registration Program (SRP) to establish the project's eligibility. Rebated projects that were previously approved through the Renewable Energy Incentive Program (REIP) do not need to register in the SRP. Rebated projects will be registered with the SREC Tracking System upon system and REIP process completion. More detailed requirements regarding the SRP can be found in the SRP Program Guidebook.
Getting Started
If you have not yet chosen an installer, the Trade Ally Database includes a list of solar photovoltaic (PV) installers that have completed at least three solar PV projects. It is recommended that customers meet with at least three installers to discuss solar project sizing, panel placement, and financing options before choosing an installer.
N.J.S.A. 45:5A-2(d) states that solar PV systems are, by definition, electrical work and require any person engaged in installing, erecting, or repairing such equipment to be an electrical contractor under the provisions of the statute. Starting in 2012, the Market Manager will collect the name of the New Jersey electrical license holder and New Jersey license number stated on the SRP application in order to demonstrate that the contractor has a valid business permit and holds a non-expired license from the New Jersey Board of Electrical Contractors. If anything changes between the time of registration and program inspection, an updated and signed SRP Registration form must be submitted PRIOR to the program inspection or waiver. Customers are urged to discuss this with their prospective solar installers.
Some solar installers or project developers may offer to buy SRECs as part of the project financing, thereby reducing the amount of up-front capital needed to finance the project. All residential and commercial customers considering financing options for a solar installation should ask their installer about the value of SRECs and who will have the rights to claim them once the project is completed.
Many New Jersey utility companies also offer solar financing based on the sale of SRECs. Check with your utility company for current program information.
Your installer will guide you through the process, which is broken down into six steps:
- Determining your eligibility
- Submitting your registration
- Requesting your state inspection
- Passing your state inspection
- Receiving your New Jersey certification number
- Earning and trading your SRECs
1. Determining your eligibility
Participation starts by identifying the type and size of the solar installation you need. Your installer will work with you to determine the system size and develop a financial structure that works for you. The annual expected electricity production of the solar installation cannot exceed the annual historical electricity usage of the utility meter that connects to it. Participants may submit one registration for each utility meter that will connect to a solar project.
All solar project owners installing behind-the-meter (system is sized no larger than historical electric consumption at the meter) or grid-connected solar electricity projects (solar farms which produce electricity for sale to utilities on a wholesale basis) in New Jersey are eligible to generate SRECs, provided that the system is interconnected with an electric distribution system that supplies New Jersey.
On-site load at least equal to project generation must exist before a net-metered system may be energized or final program approval is issued. At the time of interconnection the utility will require the existence of sufficient load to justify the capacity installed.
Please contact 866-NJSMART (866-657-6278 ext. 3) or e-mail njreinfo@csgrp.com with any status questions.
2. Submitting your registration
Once you and your installer have determined that you are eligible, you must complete and submit an SRP Registration Packet. A complete list of required documents is defined on the SRP Registration Checklist.
Under current program guidelines, registrants must register solar projects in the SRP prior to the completion of construction in order to establish the project’s eligibility to earn SRECs. Rule amendments to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) at N.J.A.C. 14:8-2.4 proposed on March 30, 2011, will require, if adopted as proposed, for the SREC registration to occur no later than ten (10) business days after execution of the contract for purchase or installation, whichever comes first, of the photovoltaic panels to be used for the solar project. Failure to comply with these proposed provisions will result in forfeiture of the ability to trade SRECs for one year from the date the system was authorized to energize.
The Electric Distribution Companies (EDC) will be approving interconnection based upon the net metering and interconnection rules. (N.J.A.C. Title 14-Public Utilities, Chapter 8 - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and Subchapter 4-Net Metering and Interconnection Standards for Class I Renewable Energy Systems). System owners are encouraged to apply for interconnection commensurate with submission of an SRP registration to ensure that the system built will be interconnected by the EDC or the Municipal Electric Provider, especially if the project involves new construction. Registrants are reminded that the SRP project acceptance letter does not constitute net metering and interconnection approval.
Once the registration is accepted, the registrant, site host contact, system owner, and contractor/solar developer will receive an SRP acceptance letter. This letter will certify that the project, as proposed, will be eligible to generate SRECs in accordance with the State’s RPS rules.
Once accepted, registrants will have 12 months from the date of the acceptance letter to satisfy all program requirements and submit a complete Final As-Built Packet to request a state inspection or inspection waiver.
Please wait six weeks for questions regarding registration packets. Questions can be directed to 866-NJSMART (866-657-6278 ext. 3) or via e-mail to njreinfo@csgrp.com.
Also, review the updated project status list for additional updates on SRP registrations.
3. Requesting your state inspection
Once the system is installed, has passed local electric code inspection, and has been interconnected by the local utility, registrants must submit a complete Final As-Built Packet as defined by the Final As-Built Checklist to schedule a program inspection or receive an inspection waiver. The Final As-Built Packet must be received by the Market Manager prior to the project expiration date. If your system will not be completed prior to the expiration date, you may be able to apply for an extension. Review the SRP project extension policy to see if you are eligible. The EDC notification is the only document that can be submitted after the expiration date. However, the project will not be scheduled for an inspection or receive an inspection waiver until a complete Final As-Built Packet has been received. Therefore until the system receives a passed inspection or waiver letter, it will not receive a New Jersey certification number, which is needed to generate SRECs.
All SRP projects, regardless of size, must have a revenue grade kilowatt-hour (kWh) production meter that has been certified to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C12 standards. See Metering Requirements.
Projects participating in other programs, such as the EDC solar financing programs, may be subject to additional metering requirements.
Once the Final As-Built Packet is deemed complete, a random selection process determines if the installation will receive a waiver of inspection or if it will be a part of the Quality Control (QC/on-site inspection) process. If the inspection is waived, the registrant, installer, system owner, and the site host contact will receive a letter within 2-3 weeks of receipt of the complete Final As-Built Packet.
If the installation will be part of the QC process, residential customers will be called within one week to schedule an inspection. Since Installers are expected to be present for the inspection of non-residential projects, the Market Manager will email the installer within one week to schedule the inspection.
On-site inspections for PSE&G loan program projects will be handled by PSE&G program inspectors.
Please wait three weeks after submitting the Final As-Built Packet for questions regarding scheduling an inspection. Questions about inspections may be submitted to njreinfo@csgrp.com via e-mail only.
4. Passing your state inspection
Installers will be notified via e-mail of inspection results within two weeks after the project inspection. If the project passes inspection, the e-mail will include a passed inspection report.
If the project fails inspection, the e-mail notification will include a failed inspection report. The installer must correct the deficiencies or supply the missing information and request a program re-inspection. If a second inspection is required, a fee of $200 for each re-inspection will be deducted from any incentive payments under the EDC Solar Financing Incentive (ESFI) and New Jersey Renewable Energy Manufacturing Incentive (NJREMI) programs.
Please wait two weeks following the inspection for questions regarding the results. Questions about inspection results can be directed to the specific program inspector that inspected your installation.
5. Receiving your New Jersey certification number
A letter containing a New Jersey certification number will be mailed to the system owner once the project has received an inspection waiver letter or a passed inspection report, and once all requested paperwork has been submitted by the owner. This letter will be mailed 4-6 weeks from the date that the last of these items is satisfied, and will include instructions on how to register with the SREC Tracking System.
Please allow six weeks before submitting questions regarding New Jersey certification numbers. Questions can be directed to 866-NJSMART or via e-mail to njreinfo@csgrp.com.
6. Earning and trading your SRECs
Once the solar project is interconnected with the electric distribution system in New Jersey and is authorized to be energized by the EDC, the system is able to produce electricity and is eligible to begin earning SRECs. One SREC is earned each time a project generates 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. System owners report energy production to the SREC Tracking System, which determines the number of SRECs earned. SRECs are placed in the customer's electronic account, and can then be offered for sale via the GATS bulletin board and transferred on the PJM-GATS SREC Tracking System to buyers.
The SREC Tracking System enables account holders to track solar energy production from their installations. SRECs are issued to account holders based on recorded or estimated (for systems less than 10kW) production of the solar energy system. Rule amendments to the RPS at the N.J.A.C. 14.8-2.9 which were proposed on March 30, 2011 will require, if adopted as proposed, readings of an ANSI C12 meter that records megawatt-hour production of electrical energy for the purposes of SREC production. This rule would require systems less than 10 kW to no longer use estimated production for the purpose of SREC generation, and SREC account holders to report energy data to the SREC Administrator via the SREC Administrator’s web interface. See Metering Requirements.
The SREC Tracking System records the sale of SRECs from generators to purchasers, and is ultimately used by electric suppliers and providers to retire SRECs for New Jersey RPS compliance purposes.
These accounts are hosted by the Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS) managed by PJM-Environmental Information Systems (PJM-EIS); which is the current SREC Administrator.
New owners of a solar project with a New Jersey certification number can obtain and access SREC accounts.
In most cases, system owners will be responsible for establishing and monitoring their accounts, verifying generation inputs, and trading SRECs. In cases where system owners assign the rights to SRECs to a third party, such as their installer or a financier, system owners will not have access to SREC generation data. Questions or issues with the SREC platform should be directed to the GATS Administrator at 610-666-2245 or gatsadmin@pjm-eis.com.