Production Tracking System

Renewable energy certificates (RECs) are a tool for implementing Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in Massachusetts. Each megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean energy produced is allocated one REC. These RECs are monitored and traded through the New England Generation Information System (NE-GIS).

RECs and RPS Compliance Standards

A Renewable Energy Certificate represents one megawatt hour generated by a renewable energy source, as defined by the RPS. Electricity providers may purchase these certificates from generators, allowing them to directly support the renewable market without having to directly supply clean energy. This system is maintained and tracked through the NE-GIS.

 

Each certificate purchased by a supplier counts as one credit towards the amount of renewable energy credits required for compliance with the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard.

The Production Tracking System (PTS) is a database used by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to track the production of renewable energy systems that are installed throughout the Commonwealth.  The PTS provides MassCEC with the information necessary to monitor and evaluate the performance of renewable energy systems and the effectiveness of its renewable energy programs.

MassCEC has been designated by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) as the Independent Third Party Meter Reader for the purpose of providing verification of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) for qualified generators. Therefore, the PTS also provides solar PV system owners a convenient method for earning additional income from their PV systems by verifying and reporting production data to sell in the form of SRECs.

Reporting to the PTS

All renewable energy systems in the Commonwealth are welcome to report data to the PTS, free of charge. This data must be reported during a period starting five days before the end of the month to five days after the beginning of the next month. This data is analyzed on a monthly basis, and system owners with erratic data may be contacted to ensure accurate data was provided and that the system is operating properly. MassCEC reserves the right to conduct on-site audits of any System, for any reason or for no reason, to verify the accuracy of the Data. Any deviations between the Data and observed audited production figures may be investigated, and MassCEC reserves the right to adjust or reconcile the Data in accordance with the results of any audit or investigation.

MassCEC funded systems, or systems that are qualified to sell SRECs, are subject to the following reporting requirements:

Production must be reported from a utility revenue quality meter

Renewable energy projects less than or equal to 10 kW (DC @ STC) may manually or automatically report to the PTS. Projects larger than 10 kW (DC @ STC) are required to report automatically to the PTS.

Important Resources

System Registration

If you would like to register your system and need a user account to report to the PTS, email PTS@MassCEC.com and include your name and the address of the installation with your request to report. There are three types of PTS accounts:

  • The System Owner account is for individuals or organizations that are an owner of a renewable energy system. The users of this account have read only access to view system information and production data. They cannot edit or enter any information in the PTS.
  • The REC Owner account is for individuals or organizations that are an owner of the renewable energy certificate rights to a renewable energy system. The PTS initially lists the System Owner as the REC Owner. After receipt of a signed contract that transfers REC rights from the System Owner to another individual or organization, MassCEC will change the REC Owner designation in the PTS record. In the case of SREC qualified systems, DOER will provide MassCEC with verified REC Owner information.
  • The System Representative account is for those responsible for entering monthly production data for a renewable energy system. The account allows access to the production reporting section of this site. No other user type has access to this section. For systems using a DAS Service Provider for Automated Reporting to the PTS, the DAS provider will serve as the System Representative.

PTS Documents

RPS Solar Carve-Out II Program Overview
PTS Reporting Guide
Massachusetts Revenue Quality Metering Info
SREC Reporting Instructions
PTS Homeowner Guide
SREC Process and Timing
SREC Terms and Conditions
SREC II Statement of Qualification Application (SQA) Production Tracking System (PTS) User Guide
SREC II SQA Glossary
SREC II Metering Requirements
SREC II Approved Meters

SREC II Meters Application
Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Service Providers

Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Provider Application

A retail electricity supplier can maintain RPS compliance in three ways:

  • Through standard compliance- A supplier buys and holds RECs from qualified facilities equivalent to the required percentage of its total sales for a given year. For example, a supplier selling 1,000,000 MWh in 2005-when the RPS requirement was 2%-was required to purchase and hold 20,000 RPS-eligible RECs.
  • Through banked compliance- A supplier may count toward the current year any RECs generated within the previous 2 years above the minimum percentage required for those years. This banked amount cannot exceed 30% of RPS quota for the current year.
  • Through alternative compliance- A supplier may choose to make alternative compliance payments (ACPs) if not enough RECs are available in the market. After a supplier determines the number of RECs required for compliance, it makes ACPs at a rate of $50/MWh (in 2003 dollars, adjusted for the Consumer Price Index) for Class I -- or $25/MWh for Class II Renewable and $10/MWh for Class II Waste Energy (both in 2009 dollars, adjusted for the CPI) -- and is given alternative compliance credits by the DOER. The use of these payments is overseen by the DOER, primarily to further the commercial development of facilities that will generate more Class I RECs.

 

Any electricity supplier that continually fails to comply with the RPS is subject to punitive action by the DOER, up to and including suspension and revocation of the supplier's license. However, with three different methods of compliance and reasonable goals, the RPS is intended to provide a pragmatic way to expand the supply of renewable energy.

 

New England Generation Information System

To monitor RPS compliance, the DOER requires licensed suppliers to submit annual reports certifying that they have purchased a sufficient number of RECs of the appropriate class produced by qualified generating facilities. RECs are based on the environmental attributes of generated electricity, as tracked by the New England Generation Information System (NE-GIS). This system, adopted in 2002, is maintained by NEPOOL.

 

The NE-GIS currently tracks almost 50 different attributes for generating units that produce power within and deliver power to the New England electricity marketplace. Key attributes include type of generation technology, date of operation, and fuel sources, as well as CO2, SOx, and NOx emissions.

 

For each megawatt-hour of electricity generated by individual units, the NE-GIS assigns a certificate that records the attributes of the power. These certificates are then used by electricity suppliers to differentiate their products for consumers, to provide the information required on energy disclosure labels, and to comply with state and regional RPS and emissions performance standards. Green power brokers, for example, sell products based on RECs, giving consumers the opportunity to offset purchases of electricity generated by fossil fuels and other sources.

 

Unlike other energy tracking systems used around the country, the NE-GIS assigns certificates to all electricity produced, regardless of fuel source, making it the most comprehensive such system in the United States. Generators are not required to provide information-but if they opt not to report attributes, they are assigned default certificates based on data from the highest-emitting coal-firing units. The market for certificates generated by such facilities is nonexistent.

 

By contrast, RECs represent a valuable commodity-and the RECs generated by RPS-eligible facilities are in particularly high demand, due to both RPS requirements and consumer preferences. Each REC from a qualified facility purchased and held by a licensed retail supplier counts toward the amount required for compliance. Consumers who purchase green power products based at least in part on RPS-eligible RECs help tighten the supply of certificates available for RPS compliance, sending market signals for additional renewables development.

How It Works