Team Clark is adamant that we will never write content influenced by or paid for by an advertiser. To support our work, we do make money from some links to companies and deals on our site. Learn more about our guarantee here.
Welcome to Ask Clark, a column designed to answer your financial questions, by money expert Clark Howard.
Sherry From Virginia: “We recently installed solar panels and are now being contacted by another company to sell our SREC [Solar Renewable Energy Certificate]. They have several payment options. Is this a good idea? And generally which type of payout is recommended or more advantageous to us?”
Clark says: “SRECs are credits you get for having solar installed in your home, and these credits in a number of states … can be sold off into the marketplace.”
Virginia’s SREC marketplace is still in the early stages, according to Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit organization that promotes solar energy solutions.
As the market matures, Clark recommends that you learn about the supply and demand of SRECS in your local area before deciding to sell yours.
“So there are potentially multiple buyers of SRECs, and so you want to shop them with the providers available to you in Virginia rather than just being in a linear negotiation with the one company that approached you,” Clark says.
The sale of SRECS is “a way of creating more incentives in the marketplace for people to install solar,” Clark adds, “and the idea of SRECs is that when you put solar on your home, you are lessening the number of times that the local power company has to go buy very high-cost power on high-demand days. So you are helping out your next-door neighbor who doesn’t have solar by lowering what power costs them.”
To hear Clark’s full take on this question, listen to the segment:
Do you have a question for Clark? Use this form to ask him! And remember that you can listen to the Clark Howard Podcast at any time here.
If you have a question but don’t want to go on the air, contact Clark’s Consumer Action Center for free money help.
This post was last modified on October 8, 2021 5:54 pm
If you're considering subscribing to Fubo, you need to be comfortable missing out on some…
Are you looking for a way to earn 2% back on every purchase you make…
You're not alone if you're running a balance on your credit cards. Collectively, Americans are…
A big part of saving money comes down to knowing how to comparison shop. But…
If you work for a big company as a full-time employee, chances are you have…
Are you a Peacock subscriber? You soon will have to pay more to watch NBCUniversal's…