Learning to sell Solar Renewable Energy Credits (ie saving money on the net cost of solar PV array)

I'm learning so bear with me. If you generate power in WV there are companies out there who are compelled by law to reduce their carbon footprint by producing a certain quantity of renewable energy credits per year. The solar variety are called Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SRECs). Dependng on the state there are fines per SREC not produced. These companies (eg Starbucks does it) must buy SREC's (or create them) at a lower price than the fine.

People or businesses with a solar PV array on the roof have no use for SREC's because they are nothing but credit (ie little gold stars by your name) for having reduced your footprint. It makes sense for large dirty non-compliant companies to pay you and me to reduce the total footprint as long as it is cheaper for them to meet there requirements (or pay the fines) by paying us to do it for them, this opportunity should persist.

There are brokers who approach solar PV system owners and try to sign them up for a 10 year contract without disclosing the accounting definitions used to calculate your net price. For example, they may offer to pay you 50% of their SREC 'sales price' but the one I spoke with wouldn't define sales price, leading me to conclude that their definition can be padded with fees or overhead as they please. It would be true, legally, to look at their agreement.

So I called the power company and they referred me to this hitherto unknown entity called PJM, who operates the Generation Attribute Tracking System. Very helpful folks there are holding my hand through a process that promises to set up Blackwater Overlook as a registered power plant capable of selling its Renewable Energy Credits to the "needy" (ie the dirty who must pay to be clean).

To do this the PV generator has to have a state certification number. What? WV does not even issue such certifications. However! PA and DC apparently allow registration of PV generators that are located in WV. Hmmm. OK I applied for certification. Once gotten I then register the generator in the PJM GATS system as a producer. From there I believe the gig is similarly primitive to craigslist, where I would post Megawatt-Hours (Mwh) (of which I should produce between 2 and 4 per year) for sale. These little bundles of joy go for a few hundred dollars each, depending on the market/legislative forces at work.

It is facinating so far, and I figure that IF it works, the SRECs revenue will just about pay for my time to figure out how to sell the SRECs. Kidding aside, the real opportunity is to add this to the equation for how much it really costs after taxes and SREC liquidation to own a PV array in Davis. The true net cost of the system is what we can compare to the savings in electrical bills. Although the systems and even the need for an SREC trading marketplace will change, it would appear that the Riverwalk Homeowners association could handle much of the administivia for getting the equipped Riverwalk residences in a position to sell off their SRECs.

Parking lots and such -- todo list update

Lots of small progress items to report in Riverwalk:

1. Boulders have been placed throughout the tract to control vehicle traffic in the Riverwalk greenspaces. Fly fishing is a beautiful thing, but alas you will have to walk a few yards...
2. Volleyball - the posts are set, many trucks of fill have been brought in. Next we roll it, put down fabric, and....then 40 tons of sand. Is there room for a lifeguard chair?
3. Parking lot -- specs are out to 2 asphalt companies and we are waiting on the second quote. We are going with ample sized parking spots that are parallel to the front of the building, so that cars are not parked up against the storefronts.
4. Market stalls -- getting quotes to build a couple of shelters for Saturday markets; will double as picnic area.
5. Split rail fencing - planning rail fence this summer in various sections of the perimeter for additional safety and parking management.
6. Suite 3 is completed for Highland Prospects and they are busily building displays, dressing room and specialty lighting.
7. Suite 2 is getting its cement floor sealed today, complete with some faint oil stains and sawed off bolts from the hydrolic engine lift that once operated in this bay. The floors are really the main architectural artifact telling this building's past use.
8. Solar Photovoltaic System -- up and running. We are at a surplus now but once tenants are in Suite 2 we expect this grid-tied system to generate the majority but not all the electricity usage of Suite 2.

Pete

Teddy said it right

Roosevelt Island is a pleasant little island between Rosslyn VA and Georgetown/Foggy Bottom. Sienna and I took the wee ones for an island hike mid-day today. Roughly centered on the island is a monument with a statue of Roosevelt and a handful of large walls bearing excerpts from his speeches on various topics such as Youth, Manhood, Democracy, and ahhhh sweet NATURE.

Who put boulders in the park?

Davis Riverwalk's site is 7 acres along the Blackwater River, adjoining the 5-acre Town of Davis' Riverfront Park. Historically, visitors (mostly fisherman) have driven vehicles where they pleased to access fishing spots. And no one has really cared because they were not investing in the landscaping of the tracts. Both the Park and Riverwalk have been making small greenspace improvements each year for the past 3 years. The Town's Riverfront Park prohibits vehicles and is developing its greenspaces continually. Davis Riveralk allows vehicles to park sunrise to sunset in the Old Shopnsave parking lot. Behind this lot we have maintained a riverfront vehicle access point with parking, turnaround area and canoe beach. At this time, this location is the only spot a vehicle is authorized to park other than on the asphalt lots.

Both the Town Park and Riverwalk have experienced an increase in unauthorized vehicle traffic. This could be due to the improved fishing or the Town's landscape improvements, or both. Traffic is using Riverwalk to enter and drive through Riverwalk green spaces, usually continuing into Town Park property to do some 'tailgate fishing.' Some visitors do this because they find it convenient and some drive to the water because they have handicapped members in their party.

I have contracted to have boulders placed along the allowed vehicle roadways, effectively blocking vehicles from approaching the Town Park's riverfront locations on various paths within Davis Riverwalk property.

A plan for the future: Riverwalk and the Town Park will both have ADA accessible areas in the park. The beach parking area described above will eventually have an ADA-accessible walkway and observation/fishing deck, allowing us to restrict vehicles from that area. Until it does we will permit driving to that location. Our goal is to have no vehicles along the river or on green space. To make this work we will have ample free daytime public parking in Davis Riverwalk along with one or more ADA river access points.

Some folks will invevitably be disspointed by these restrictions in driving. They presumably would prefer to be able drive their vehicles freely on Riverwalk or the Town Park.

Hopefully a few boulders will curtail the offroad driving and parking. Hopefully the community will benefit more from these restrictions than without them.

Davis Apartment Lease or Sale

Best tenant in the world just moved out. Here are fresh photos of the interior...

Painted, getting trimmed, getting closer....

This pic shows the incomplete outside but you can see the rusted wainscoting, the rough board siding...All interior walls have been painted and trim is going in. The biggest challenge awaiting is the cement floor. After removing some pretty imposing hydrolic lift hardware and patching the openings, our contractor will be grinding and polishing the floors to get that distressed but smmoooth and useful surface.
PIMBY has continued to work on the installation details for the solar PV array. The electrcian is installing fixtures, outlets and switches next week. We may slide in for the May 15 target date, but my guess is this project will have its straggling bits push that date out a week or two. Stop by the site any time you are in for a coffee at Hypno.

PV Array completed

We're going to wait for a new product that seems to be just around the corner - a little gizmo that will allow me to display (online) what we're generating vs what we're using in real time and by the month. In the meantime I'll get the generation info monthly and compare it to the bill.