October 1, 2008

Morristown, N.J., USA: Jersey Central Power & Light Files Solar Renewable Energy Financing Proposal

Jersey Central Power&Light (JCP&L) yesterday filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) a proposal designed to help increase the pace of solar project development in the state. Under the proposal, JCP&L would enter into long-term agreements to purchase and sell Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC) to provide a stable basis for financing solar generation projects.

An SREC represents the solar renewable energy attributes of one megawatt-hour of generation from a solar generation facility that has been certified by the BPU Office of Clean Energy. The BPU has asked all the state's electric delivery companies to submit SREC-based financing plans with the goal of providing a predictable cash flow for solar generation projects.

Under its proposal, JCP&L would solicit SRECs to satisfy approximately 60 percent of the incremental SREC purchases needed in its service territory to meet the Renewable Portfolio Standards through the end of 2010. SRECs would equal 50 percent of the incremental purchases to meet the RPS in 2011, and 40 percent in 2012.

In total, JCP&L expects the plan to support the phase-in of approximately 30 megawatts of solar projects through May 31, 2012.

JCP&L will seek proposals for SREC purchase agreements with terms of 10 to 15 years and will solicit proposals on a semi-annual basis through a series of requests for proposal. JCP&L will work through an independent RFP manager to perform solicitations. SRECs purchased through the contracts will then be sold to energy suppliers through an auction process and revenues from the sales will be used to offset program costs.

Only projects that have been approved by the Office of Clean Energy as being qualified to receive credit for SREC generation will be eligible to participate. Solar electric generation projects that received or will receive a rebate from the Customer On-Site Renewable Energy (CORE) Program in 2001 through 2008 will not be eligible to enter into SREC purchase agreements.

"This proposal demonstrates our continuing efforts to support cost-effective solutions for New Jersey's energy future," said Steve Morgan, president, JCP&L. "Solar energy and distributed energy solutions will play a key role in providing affordable, reliable energy."

JCP&L, a subsidiary of Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. , serves 1.1 million customers in 13 New Jersey counties.