China
Africa
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Present and Future PV Markets
Published in Peter F. Varadi, Wolfgang Palz, Michael Eckhart, Allan R. Hoffman, Paula Mints, Bill Rever, John Wohlgemuth, Frank P.H. Wouters, Sun Towards High Noon, 2017
SRECs32: Solar renewable energy credits are tradeable instruments (similar to stock certificates). One SREC is equal to 1,000 kWh. The value of an SREC is set by the market, that is, if there is an oversupply the value falls, if there is an undersupply (shortage), the value rises. To be useful a market should have an RPS with a punitive measure severe enough to encourage compliance and the system owner must be able to own and trade the SREC or, solar renewable energy credits. The future of Renewable Energy Credits as a system-financing tool cannot be ignored, though as the market sets the REC price, its effectiveness to stimulate the residential and commercial market is questionable. The problem with the RECs is that the behavior is similar to that of the stock market, that is, an oversupply of RECs renders the value at a low level insufficient to stimulate the market. Renewable Energy Credits can function on their own or as a compliance tool. There is no standard protocol for defining the environmental attributes of a REC. There is no consensus as to the volume of avoided greenhouse gasses or other pollutants. Currently, this is not a significant concern, but how these attributes are interpreted could affect other markets, such as sulfur emission allowances or carbon credits.
Solar Markets in the 21st Century
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Solar Technologies for the 21st Century, 2021
Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) or Solar Renewable Energy Credits are a form of Renewable Energy Certificate or “Green tag.” SRECs exist in states that have Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) legislation with specific requirements for solar energy, usually referred to as a “solar carve-out.”
Non-utility Photovoltaic Deployment: Evaluation of U.S. State-level Policy Drivers
Published in Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, 2019
Finally, SREC markets are most often present in states with a mandatory RPS, as utilities can count SRECs purchased from local solar PV owners towards their RPS requirements, usually at a rate of one credit per megawatt-hour (MWh) of solar electricity produced [45]. However, PV system owners in states without an RPS can sometimes sell their SRECs to an out-of-state market. This is common in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. [46].