Solar Renewable Energy Credits Are Here, FSLR, SPWRA, STP, CSIQ, ESLR, AKNS

Promising results on trade-able credits have led the state of New Jersey, with 4,340 solar installations, to show promising business, says Dan Potkay, president of New Jersey-based Brite Idea Energy, a solar installation company.

Solar installation is not just part of home rooftops, but also schools, conventions, churches, gyms and many other public places like paved parking lots. But the solar revolution in Germany takes the breath away. With over six times more solar installations, 300,000 residential rooftop systems, along with multi-megawatt commercial systems, it is almost half the world’s total solar capacity.

All this shows not great sunshine, but abundant subsidies. Both Germany and New Jersey gave solar adopters economic guaranteed returns on their investments, and at the same time subsidized those who moved to solar. While it is true that subsidies do increase manufacturing growth, solar always remained more expensive than other fossil fuels, in an environment that was threatened by green-house gas emission. Begun as just subsidies, New Jersey made an aggressive attempt and changed these into trade-able credits, which could be traded in a free-floating market-just like stocks and bonds.

After purchasing and installing a solar system on the rooftop, the purchaser earns SRECs or Solar Renewable Energy Credits each year on the amount of power generated by the system, per annum. He earns one credit for every 1000 KWH generated. He can then sell them back to companies that in turn generate power for the state grid, the companies using the SRECs for state renewable portfolio standards.

The credits are sold by stock brokers and market price and sell at a current price of just below $700, and allow the purchaser to pay for a full solar system in about 4 years. Following suit are other states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and others. Some of these stocks are tickered as First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Sun Power Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA), Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), Evergreen Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR), Akeena Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: AKNS).