Are Free Solar Panels Really Free?

In recent news, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy confirmed clean energy legislation that shuts the door to new SREC applicants no later than June 1, 2021.

In an extension to the SREC program changes, the bill calls for an energetic increase in RPS and solar carve-out, indicating New Jersey’s ambitious approach to clean and renewable energy sources. RPS represents the percentage of total energy production that a provider must offer Class I renewable energy origins like:

Geothermal electric sources

Solar thermal electric sources

Solar photovoltaics sources

Wind sources

Biomass sources

Hydroelectric sources

Municipal Solid Waste sources

Let's have a look at this bill. Legislative Bill A-3723 establishes the current RPS goal from 24.4 percent in 2028 to 50 percent in 2030, with milestones of 21 percent in 2021 and 35 percent in 2025. The targets for solar carve-out, the amount of total energy generation gained through solar facilities, were also raised to 5.1 percent by 2021. The prior intention was 4.1 percent by 2028.

The increase in RPS and the recent $300 million subsidy deal with the state’s nuclear energy provider are in-line with Governor Murphy’s pledge to provide the nation with 100 percent emission-free energy by 2050. State agencies will perform an updated energy master plan mapping a path to this goal by June of 2019.  

“One of my goals as governor is to make New Jersey a leader, not just nationally, but globally, in the generation of clean and renewable energy,” Governor Murphy said journalists before signing the bill. “As a state already seeing the warning signs of climate change this is a matter of vital importance to our future.”

Renewable Energy Storage Grows

The bill needs the BPU to complete an energy storage analysis within one year of enactment before establishing a method to reach a goal of 600 MW of energy storage by 2021 and 2,000 MW by 2030.

BPU’s energy storage analysis must:

Examine how renewable electric energy storage systems benefit ratepayers

Examine whether storage systems could impact the use of electric vehicles

Review current energy storage technologies in the state

Estimate the benefits and costs associated with adding additional storage technologies

Discover the ideal energy storage capacity needed over the next five years

Recognize favorable entry points into the electric distribution system for distributed energy resources

Measure the ratepayer cost for adding the determined energy storage capacity

“New Jersey is way behind the 8-ball on energy storage,” Governor Murphy mentioned. “This is important because of our efforts for clean energy production. With these technologies in place, we can continue to draw clean energy even when there is no sun to shine or when the winds slow. In this [renewable energy storage], New Jersey will be the undisputed leader.”

Solar Alternative Compliance Payments (SACP) Diminish

Energy providers buy SRECs for RPS agreement. If a provider does not gather enough SRECs, it pays a planned SACP amount per SREC shortage. The new legislation gradually diminishes the SACP schedule yearly from $293 per missing SREC to $239 in 2028.

The shrinking SACP and imminent closure to new applicants is part of the state’s plan to move away from the contemporary SREC program structure.

We hope you have gained great insight into the information available for incentives and solar pricing in New Jersey.  If you would like more information on low-cost solar and incentives, here at HahaSmart, we have plenty of links to help you find that information; give them a try.

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