February 2023
NJ is ranked 8th in the US by solar generation. Residential installations comprise about 1/3 of the installations. Starting in 2020 the state switched from SRECs to TRECs and in so doing thousands of NJ residents are losing thousands of dollars because of unnecessary fees associated with converting their TRECs to cash. I was one such resident. Then I learned how to change that and offer this information to my fellow residents.
Saving money on TRECs with only two emails!
I spent 35 days fumbling around trying to get control of my solar system so I could keep all the TREC cash my system generated. When all I had to do was send two emails. Learn from my mistakes and get control of your system so you can keep all your TREC money.
First, here’s how the system works:
Step One:
Every system in NJ must have a GATS account. The GATS account is how the energy credits get created.
Step Two:
Sell the credits for cash.
Easy, right? Yes and no…
Step (1 A):
If you currently have an operating system this part is already done.
To switch your system to your control, you need your GATS Registry ID, which is like a social security number for your system in GATS. I found mine in my original paperwork and also at the SRECtrade.com website in my settings.
My Facility Details
Size
15.30 kW
Registry
GATS
Registry ID
_________________
State Certifications
NJ-123456-SUN-I-XXXXX-TREC
Follow the certificate numbering, get this from your original paperwork or from your current exchange.
Address
This is the address of the solar system.
Fees
10.00%
NJ (Successor): $6.00 min fee per credit
NJ (TREC): $6.00 min fee per credit
NJ (SREC): $10.00 min fee per credit
Look at the fees! 10% fee for doing nothing since the TRECs have a fixed price and there is no need to time the market sale or bundle RECs to get volume pricing the way they do with SRECs. No one should be paying fees to sell their TRECs in NJ!
Step (1 B)
Taking control of your GATS account:
If you already have a system, you just need to take control of it through GATS. You need to complete a Schedule A and send it to GATS admin. They will confirm the data and switch your ownership if you do not have any obligation to the current company. If you sold RECs in advance, you won’t be able to take control until you’ve met your commitment with the current provider. Some solar companies offer this to make additional income on your installation. Tesla offered it but it was such a bad deal I did not take it.
Find the Schedule A here: https://www.pjm-eis.com/-/media/pjm-eis/documents/schedule-a.ashx
You MUST have your GATS ID, the GATS team will not provide it to you. Email the completed Schedule A to: gatsadmin@pjm-eis.com and admin@solarincentivesnj.com.
Here’s my email response:
Hello Hugh,
You are correct, you can manage your account and there are no fees associated with the program. You will need a PJM GATS account, and they do mention fees in the attestation when you create your account, however, the fees are not applicable to homeowners or small solar subscribers*. Feel free to confirm with the GATS admin staff directly by phone at 1-877-750-4287 or via email at gatsadmin@pjm-eis.com.
To move forward in managing your account you need to create a GATS account** and submit a new Schedule A (attached here) to GATS (gatsadmin@pjm-eis.com), SRECTrade (nj.renewables@srectrade.com), and us (admin@solarincentivesnj.com).
Please let us know if you have additional questions.
Best,
Name removed
*This was huge as I actually read the documents before I sign them, and this form has lots of fees.
**Turns out I already have a GATS account, so I didn’t need to do this step. All I needed to do was submit the schedule A.
How do I sell TRECs for cash in NJ?
When my Tesla Solar system was installed, a GATS account was created and then linked to SRECTrade.com who received the TRECs and converted them to cash and deposited the money, net of fees, into my bank account. It worked fine, except I was paying a fee of around $9/TREC which over the course of 1 year with my 16 KWh system was the equivalent of another TREC. Then I learned the TRECs can be sold directly to the state for FREE. All I needed to do was switch my account in GATS from SRECTrade to … who? How?
Step Two change payment account
Solar Incentives NJ manages the process for the state and the homeowner of collected TRECs and converting them to cash. You need to transfer your payment application from the current provider to yourself. Email admin@solarincentivesnj.com and ask them to transfer your previously approved system to you. They’re great to work with. They do this every day and live in this world whereas homeowners do not, and I found the process confusing. I ended up trying to apply for a new account (twice) only to learn I couldn’t because the account already existed. I only needed to email them and ask them to change it to me. Here’s the website link for additional information www.solarincentivesnj.com
After all my fumbling around with online forms, all I had to do was send an email to the right person…. The people there are great, but the process was hard to follow for me.
Good morning Hugh, Thanks for your email. Upon review, it appears that your REC payment account is being managed through the aggregator SRECTrade Inc.
If you intend to manage your REC payments independently, please respond to this email accordingly and I will transfer the previous approved application to your Solar Incentives NJ account. Best,
Name removed
Once you have total control of your system both in GATS and SolarincentivesNJ, you are done! Make sure your bank account data in solarincentivesnj is correct, report your production each month and receive the full value of your TRECs in about 60 days. Believe me, the journey is worth it especially when you consider the 10-15 year value of the TRECs. So don’t wait make the change today! You’ll be glad you did.
See it worked!
Dear Hugh, Congratulations! An incentive payment has been initiated to the bank account on file for Connelly, Hugh Residence - H Connelly (Application ID 5785). You can expect to receive payment in the amount of $91.20 for the following GATS Certificate Serial Number(s) within 10 business days:
13327010 - 1 to 1
Additional information about these payments and the bank account information associated with your account can be accessed at https://solarincentivesnj.com/ under the “Payments” section of the portal. You can find more information about this process under the program’s FAQs and Resources pages. Kind Regards,
Name removed
BTW, why doesn’t the NJ Bureau of Consumer Affairs require every new residential system to be set up this way from the beginning? I think NJ consumers should be auto enrolled as system owners in both GATS and solarincentivesnj from the start. Why should uninformed NJ consumers pay unnecessary fees for years?
Helpful Links:
Solar Incentives FAQ: https://solarincentivesnj.com/faq/
Solar Incentives Resources: https://solarincentivesnj.com/resources/
Background information for curious minds
What is GATS?
The Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS) is a trading platform designed to meet the needs of buyers and sellers involved in the renewable energy certificate (REC) market - from homeowners and aggregators to states and other market participants.
Converting Electricity into a REC
GATS tracks and records the characteristic data of generators registered in the system. The data is then converted into an electronic certificate, the REC. RECs are created for each megawatt-hour, or every 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity generated and then assigned a unique serial number. This serial number is the megawatt-hour's unique finger print. Now, the certificate is eligible for sale.
There are many aggregators and brokers who sell the RECs in the open market. NJ discontinued its SREC program and adopted a new program called TRECs. TRECs for residential solar are no longer market based but fixed at $91.20/ each MWh. Installed systems prior to March 2020 still use SRECs, but systems installed after that date create TRECs
How much are TRECs worth?
On March 9, 2020, the BPU officially released the price of TRECs. TRECs are valued at a flat, 15-year price of $152 per MWh of solar produced.
Because TRECs are factorized, residential net metered systems will not receive the full $152 per MWh. Instead, they will receive 60% of the base TREC cost. This comes out to $91.20 for each MWh of solar energy produced.
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