Selling Energy Credits

We can’t find it anywhere… us, the experts online researchers. Amazing.

Two weeks ago we had a solar energy inventory of our house. The salesman took measurements of our sun exposure and determined that by putting panels on the west side of the house we could get 80% of the maximum energy possible even though we had no south-facing exposure. We could produce around 60% of our electrical need, but since our daytime surplus would be sold back to the grid, we’d actually only pay for around 25% our annual usage.

Sounded reasonable, as our electric bill has risen to almost $200 a month (our computers are on around 18 hours a day accounting for some of that usage). So, 75% of ten years of energy, assuming a 4% annual increase (should be more than that) might save us around $15,000, and reduce our carbon footprint.

It would cost $77,600 to install. Based on the size of the system we’d need, state rebates that directly reduce the cost, and other incentives, the out-of-pocket costs would actually be $42,600. But wait….

After three years you could sell your renewable energy credits (RECs) and recoup your costs quite rapidly. By producing “green” electricity, with a CO2 savings of 22,000 tons a year, we get energy credits that can be sold for cash on the open market, such as on eBay. The salesman said the state takes the energy credits for the first three years to help offset the rebates they provide. Thereafter they would be ours forever, even after we sell the house.

Based on the size of our grid, we’d qualify for “12 units” a year and they are currently selling for around $250 each, and that will increase each year as companies who pollute buy such credits to offset their federal fines. Thus, after the third year, we’d get credit worth at least $3,000 a year, and the salesman’s company would even purchase the credits from us. In ten years (minus the first three) that would be worth at least $21,000, possibly, he said, more than twice that.

What’s more, even if we sell our house, since we were the ones who initially paid for the system, the RECs would be ours forever (beyond death?) and thus in twenty years, even if the value remained the same, we’d have recouped $51,000, or more than the system’s price.

That certainly made the solar unit seem cost efficient.

But no one was selling RECs on eBay. Our electric company had never heard of households selling energy credits. There is nothing anywhere online about it. We contacted two other solar installation companies and neither of them had ever heard of such a thing.

We pride ourselves in being able to research facts online, but we’re stumped, or we’re being scammed.

Which is it? We seek the public’s help. Is this too good to be true or have we missed something?