As I mentioned in my last post when you generate 1 megawatt hour of electricity you are issued a REC for being green. The power companies need these credits because they are required to create solar power. Since they do not create enough solar power they have to purchase the "greenness" from someone who does. The amount of "greenness" the power companies need in PA goes up each year, more on this next time.

Renewable Energy Credits or RECs for short are a certificate that gets created when you produce 1 megawatt of clean power from a renewable source.

In PA they are called Alternative Energy Credits. So both terms are interchangeable. A specific type of REC that was produced by solar is called a SREC.

RECs are important to owners of solar photovoltaic systems because they are a commodity that a solar array creates for its owners. These certificates can then be sold either to the power companies if you have enough of them or an agragreator if you only have a few. I just sold a SREC earlier this week to an agregator for $300

Look for my next post when I explain why power companies want your RECs.

Solar Energy International, the company that trained me lost one of their trainers in Haiti.  He was working on installing solar on health clinics in remote areas of Haiti when the quake struck.  To learn more visit SEI's Tribute to a Solar Hero.

Electric rates were deregulated in PPL territory last month and their customers saw a 29.7% increase in electricity.  Allegheny power which is in my primary service area has been increasing electric rates the past couple of years to try and "soften the blow" to their customers.  Last January we saw an 11.9% increase and this January we saw a 3% increase.  Unless you are a business customer, Allegheny business customers saw an 11% increase this year.  What will happen next year when Allegheny and the rest of the state are no longer rate capped.  Here is an article by PA Business Central about some of the impact on local businesses.

PA is looking at making some changes to the current Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS).  With the new expanded standards we could see even more growth in the solar energy sector (and wind) for our state.

Does your solar installer really know what he/she is talking about?  There are credentials for solar professionals.  Be sure your solar installer has the knowledge needed to give you the best installation possible.  Read this HomePower magazine article that does an excellent job of explaining the differences.