UPDATED: Decline in Value of SRECs Part of Problem for Galloway Schools

The value of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) has dropped, meaning the sale of these SRECs would not benefit the as much as it has in the past, according to District Business Administrator Tim Kelley.

The issue was raised by a resident who attended Tuesday night’s Superintendent meeting at the

SRECs are certificates issued by the Board of Public Utilities to those who use solar energy and accumulate over 1,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy. Every 1,000 hours is worth one credit that can then be sold to others looking to use solar energy.

They are available for three-year cycles, but when the credit is purchased matters. If the credit is obtained and sold immediately, it is good for three years. However, if the person who obtains it waits a year, it is only good for two years once it is sold, and so on.

On Sunday morning, Superintendent of Schools Annette Giaquinto reiterated via email that the sales of SRECs to date were a good thing.

"Had the district accumulated them, revenue would have been lost over time," Giaquinto stated in her email. "The solar panels still benefit our district as explained- through creation of energy for use at GTMS and through the sale of SRECs even though the cost has dropped."

The price of SRECs has dropped recently due to an influx of business into the marketplace, which Kelley explained as “supply and demand.”

According to Kelley, the value of an SREC has dropped to $196.

“It’s bottomed out,” said Kelley, who also doesn’t expect the value to increase.

According to a recent AOL report, the state legislature’s Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee passed two bills last month aimed at restoring the market value to the SRECs, back up to $300.

The question of SRECs was posed to Kelley and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Annette Giaquinto as a way to help the school district generate money, The district’s past two budgets and a referendum in were all defeated by the residents of Galloway, some of whom perceive the district as “greedy” because of some of the requests, including those of fire alarms to replace current ones that are not broken. The school district says that request was made because those alarms are getting older and it doesn't want to have to wait until there's a problem before it replaces them.

The advisory team has been assembled as a way to solve some of the communication problems between the school district and the public, particularly with the looming referendum on March 13.

The suggestion was to hold onto the SRECs rather than sell them, but Kelley said the cost is factored into the budget. If the SRECs weren’t sold, the district would have to make up that cost elsewhere, and Kelley doesn’t believe it’s worth the risk.