A utility-run program created by the state in 2012 is expected to enter its fifth year by month’s end, following a February approval by regulators.
Under the Zero Emissions Renewable Energy Credit program, known as ZREC, utilities Eversource and Avangrid (formerly United Illuminating) solicit 15-year contracts with developers of renewable energy projects as large as one megawatt. The utilities are required to purchase a certain amount of renewable energy credits generated by the projects.
That amount was $8 million when ZREC launched in 2012, and has grown by $8 million per year since then.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) said in a February decision that it determined during a required review of the program that the price of solar energy had fallen, and therefore extended ZREC for another two years.
Mike Silvestrini, CEO of Middletown’s Greenskies Renewable Energy, praised the extension.
“We would like to thank PURA for recognizing that the solar industry has kept its end of the bargain by reducing the cost of solar energy by nearly 60 percent since the ZREC program was first introduced in 2010,” Silvestrini said in a statement. “PURA’s decision will not only benefit the solar industry but also presents every municipality in the state with significant cost-saving opportunities.”
In the coming year of ZREC, utilities will be required to purchase $40 million in credits. Next year, that figure will grow to $48 million.
