The solar panels atop Gary Best’s roof were cranking out electricity in this past weekend’s scorching sun, but he doesn’t see the $25,000 equipment paying for itself any faster.
That’s because the savings on his electricity bills are only a portion of the financial reward he expected for owning solar panels.
Best, a web developer from Sharon, has counted on revenue from sales of his solar renewable-energy credits, or SRECs, to pay for the panels. Owners of photovoltaic panels receive SRECs from the state for every 100,000 kilowatt-hours produced.
Under state law, investor-owned utility suppliers, such as National Grid and NStar, must source a certain percentage of electricity they provide from solar, or buy SRECs to make up for it. Thus, SRECs can sell for high prices in the open market when the companies are scouring for them.
With SRECs trading for $570 each in May 2011, Best thought he could pay off the $16,000 loan he had taken out in four years. Then, in August 2012, without warning, the SREC price plummeted to $200.
