Search sponsor
Search sponsor
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has approved a proposal by utility company Jersey Central Power & Light to help increase the pace of solar energy project development in the state. The JCP&L program will establish long-term agreements to buy and sell solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) to provide a stable basis for financing solar generation projects in the company's service area.
JCP&L said it expects the plan to support the phase-in of approximately 42 MW of solar generating capacity--enough to power about 32,000 homes--over the next three years to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards through 2012.
The utility, a unit of First Energy, will seek proposals for SREC purchase agreements with terms of 10-15 years and will solicit proposals through a series of requests for proposals.
JCP&L will use an independent RFP manager to perform solicitations. SRECs bought through the contracts will be sold to energy suppliers through an auction process, and revenues from the sales will be help offset program costs.
Only projects that have been approved by the BPU's Office of Clean Energy as being qualified to receive credit for SREC generation will be eligible to participate, according to JCP&L.
The board had asked all the state's electric delivery companies to submit SREC-based financing plans with the goal of providing a predictable cashflow for solar generation projects.
