Q: What’s a transition renewable energy certificate (TREC)?
New Jersey has always been one of the best states for solar: higher-than-average electricity rates and strong solar incentives have helped thousands of New Jersey residents achieve quick payback periods on their solar investments. Above all, the state’s renewable portfolio standard and associated solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) market have been instrumental towards growing solar throughout the state. However, in June 2018, the state decided to phase out SRECs in favor of a new, yet-to-be-established successor solar program. In an effort to bridge the gap between SRECs and the next phase of solar incentives, NJ implemented a transition solar incentive, known as TRECs.
Transition Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs) are now created in New Jersey to provide incentives for all solar systems certified under the current Transition Incentive (TI) Program. This platform allows homeowners and aggregators to obtain payments from the electric utilities in NJ for generation reported to GATS.
Eligible projects may generate TRECs for 15 years following the commencement of commercial operations (also referred to as the “Transition Incentive Qualification Life”). After 15 years, projects may be eligible for a NJ Class I REC.
TRECs will be created within generator accounts established in the PJM-EIS GATS system. Owners of TRECs from eligible generators will be required to create an account in GATS and use this account to transfer TRECs to the TREC Administrator.
How much is an TREC worth?
NJBPU calculates the value of a Transition Renewable Energy Certificate (TREC) by multiplying the base compensation rate ($152/MWh) by the project’s assigned factor. The TREC factors are defined based on the chart below:
| Project Type | Factor |
| Subsection (t): landfill, brownfield, areas of historic fill | 1.0 |
| Grid supply (Subsection (r)) rooftop | 1.0 |
| Net metered non-residential rooftop and carport | 1.0 |
| Community solar | 0.85 |
| Grid supply (Subsection (r)) ground mount | 0.6 |
| Net metered residential ground mount | 0.6 |
| Net metered residential rooftop and carport | 0.6 |
| Net metered non-residential ground mount | 0.6 |
The TRECs will be purchased monthly by a TREC Administrator who will allocate the TRECs to the Load Serving Entities (BGS Providers and Third Party Suppliers) annually based on their market share of retail electricity sold during the relevant Energy Year.
How Do I get paid for my TRECs?
To register for payments visit TRECSNJ.