What to do with REC's?

Discussion in 'Designing, building, making and powering your life' started by eco4560, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Have just had my solar system installed and I now have REC's to sell, or hold as the case may be.
    Can anyone give me some advice as to where, when and how to get the best deal for these?
     
  2. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    g'day eco',

    from waht i have been reading around the traps, research for the highest bidder then take the money and run, they will end up in the hands of the big polluters sooner or later so the status quo will still remain just that some money has changed hands.

    len
     
  3. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    What's an REC?
     
  4. thepoolroom

    thepoolroom Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    The most eco-friendly thing to do is to expire them (i.e. never sell them). But that will cost you a lot of money.

    Most people just sell them.
     
  5. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    it's some thing to do with fixing the carbon issue with money, ie.,. the more money you throw at it then the better it must be as the lower classes pick up the tab, and in 50, 60 100 years from now it will all look like han's christian andersons "the emporers new clothes" deliver nothing for heaps.

    oh well it keeps some off the streets and gaifully employed i suppose? come under money for nothing for those who opt to sell.

    len
     
  6. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    It's not quite the way that I view it but I get your point! It has replaced the govt rebate scheme for solar panels and from my point of view is simply a way to make it more affordable for those of us that want to go solar. If some corporation wants to salve its conscience by buying them its fine by me. I doubt that they would stop polluting if the scheme weren't in place - but it would make it less attractive to install solar panels for the average Jo with out it.

    So who does buy them and where do I find out how much they pay?
     
  7. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    So they're like a carbon credit that you got by buying solar gear?

    Did you see this:

    https://www.orer.gov.au/recs/index.html#transferring


    I agree that in general this is a daft response to climate change. But if you can get some money back to put into permie life go for it :)
     
  8. derekh

    derekh Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    For more information on REC's see https://www.orer.gov.au/recs/#what

    Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs):

    - are an electronic form of currency initiated by the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000;
    - may be created, on the internet based registry system (known as the REC Registry), by eligible parties for each megawatt-hour of eligible renewable electricity generated or deemed to have generated;
    - are created by registered persons;
    - are validated by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator;
    - are registered;
    - are traded between registered persons;
    - are eventually surrendered to demonstrate liability compliance against the requirements of the Australian Government's mandatory renewable energy target or voluntary surrender. More information on Voluntary Surrender; and
    - may be traded separately from the physical electricity in a REC market.
     
  9. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    Thanks Derek - That gets me started in the right general direction!
     
  10. derekh

    derekh Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    Also read https://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/queen ... rogram.cfm

    As I understand it, you need to transfer ownership to claim the rebate. BTW, are we talking Solar Hot Water or Solar Electricity ? I work for Ergon/Energex so I may be able to find out more info if needed.

    cheers
    Derek
     
  11. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    Solar Electricity.
     
  12. derekh

    derekh Junior Member

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  13. thepoolroom

    thepoolroom Junior Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    You can get RECs for both solar hot water (based on how much energy you're saving) and solar power (based on how much energy you're generating). You can also get them for other things, too. Basically anything that permanently reduces your electricity consumption can generate RECs, but it can be difficult for stuff other than the standard solar PV etc.

    The government has mandated that electricity utility companies must source a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources (wind, solar, tides, waves, geothermal, etc). If they don't, they must purchase RECs to bring their percentage up to the benchmark. So if they only own coal power plants, rather than forcing them to build/buy some wind farms to meet their targets, they can simply buy RECs. It effectively just increases their running costs, which tends to make renewable energy generation more cost-competitive (by punishing the dirty sources).

    So if you sell your RECs, then your shiny new solar power system is no longer 'green'. You are allowing somebody else to use your solar goodness to offset their coal/oil/gas badness, and you've had zero net effect on the environment. You would have had a much bigger impact for less cost by simply switching to green power.
     
  14. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Re: What to do with REC's?

    Found this -
    https://www.helpingmyplanet.com/

    You have to register with them (free) and they keep a user - maintained list of companies buying REC's and the price. Best price at present is $41. I've been told that they go for as much as $60 so I think I'll sit tight for a while and see what happens with the ETS....

    thepoolroom - it's possibly a circular argument - but if enough people install enough panels then the big electricity producers won't have a market to sell to anymore. The govt wins as it doesn't actually have to fork out for subsidies but the cost reduction for the system - around 50% in my case - depending on the price that I get for the REC's - is substantial.

    My aim is to eventually be net producer of solar electricity, but I wouldn't even contemplate installing a small system to start with if I was paying full price (which BTW for the 6 panels / inverter / installation was almost $12,000....)
     

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