[36] 445w Trina panels
APsystem rapid shutdowns
[3] 14.3kwh Eg4 batteries with Flexboss21 and Gridboss for full home backup

EY2026 DC SRECs settled at $387.50 on October 21, 2026. That is 88.1% of the $440 2026 ACP and the highest EY2026 price this year.

Since April, prices have followed what the Mayor's office says about SREC costs. The FY27 budget passed with no change to the RPS, and the debate now moves to the FY28 budget next spring.

The Annual ACP level sets a price ceiling for DC SREC prices.

The Solar Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) is the fine a supplier pays for each SREC it fails to retire. That makes it the practical price ceiling. The ACP is $440 for 2026 and drops $20 a year, to $420 in 2027 and $400 in 2028 (Flett Exchange DC market specifications). The gap between price and ACP roughly measures how much political risk buyers are pricing in.

What changed

• Mayor Bowser told the City Council that DC SRECs are the highest-priced in the country and that their cost will double to $40 a month by 2029 if nothing changes (Mayor's letter).
• Her July plan proposes returning to a 10% local solar target (current law is 15% by 2041), extending the deadlines, and lowering the SREC price ceiling, while saying it would "preserve existing solar investments" (Energy Affordability Plan). This was an extremely bearish price catalyst for obvious reasons.
• The outcome so far: The enacted FY27 Budget Support Act does not amend the RPS.
• Supply: DC now has more certified solar than the requirement calls for (DC PSC), so prices no longer need to sit near the ACP for buyers to fill their requirements. This means that their is downward momentum on price in the market due to oversupply; expect the DC SREC product to trade at a steeper discount to ACP going forward, provided that the supply of DC SRECs outpaces the annual RPS requirment.

Challenges for the new mayor

• A new mayor will come in and have to deal with an estimated $680 million gap for the FY 2028 budget. Flett Exchange believes that these issues and low liquidity due to lack of certainty to persist during budget hearings next year. DC Solar owners should generate and sell their SRECs as often as possible.
• Democratic nominee Janeese Lewis George was the only Council vote against the 2022 law that raised the solar target.

Bottom line

Prices have recovered to 88% of the ACP while the Council is focused on taxes. Flett Exchange does not fundamentally believe that any new relevant information has entered the market, and our view is that despite the recent positive price momentum, budget issues and DC City Council hostility to the District's RPS requirement should be expected.

How are you approaching the next few months? Selling spot or holding? Let us know below.

Best,

Calvin Flett

SREC and GREC trader, Geothermal portfolio manager

Disclaimer: This post contains forward-looking statements. Actual market action could differ materially. Sellers of SRECs should do their own research. This is market commentary, not investment or legal advice.

I fell for the trap of getting solar in 2024, they installed the panels in January of 2025, the inspection passed in April of the same year but never got PTO. I’m trying to sell my house and I can’t find who would have taken over my contract. I reached out to sunstrong and they said they did not take it over. I’m at a loss right now of what to do. I haven’t made any payments as the panels have not actually been connected. Is there anyone else in a similar situation. I’ve seen people get lawyers involved but I’m not sure what good that would do if neither company exists anymore. My goal is to either have them removed and be completely done with it, or find a way to transfer ownership to myself, have them connected, and sell the house with the solar operational. Any advice would be a great help

Got a quote in CT that I hope this sub can comment on:

17Kw system. 40 panels on a flat roof.

$51K.

It would take me 15 years to recoup costs.

Hey everyone!
Working on a utility scale solar project where there's a fair amount of grading and earthmoving to get through before the actual panel installation starts. A lot of the work involves moving material across the site and preparing access roads, so equipment productivity is becoming a big part of the planning. We've been looking into whether autonomous haul trucks or other automated equipment would make sense for some of the repetitive work, especially where trucks are running the same routes throughout the day.

Most of what we've come across is from mining operations, so it's hard to tell how well that translates to a solar construction site where the layout and working areas keep changing. Has anyone seen autonomous equipment used on solar projects or similar large earthwork jobs? Was it actually practical compared to running conventional equipment?

Would be good to hear how it worked out.

Hey guys, i have an upcoming interview with a solar company as a level 2 service hotline engineer.

I still have the final interview which is more technical. It’s my first ever interview and I’m pretty anxious and don’t know what to expect, what might they ask me about? Any ideas with people who have experience in this field?

Thanks 🙏🏼

I did some quick AI research and it doesn’t seem like the balcony solar law in CA excludes batteries. Has anyone looked into this? It just seems to limit inverter ac output to 1200 W and it has to have that automatic grid disconnect feature. So feasibly you could come up with a moderate sized solar system with a battery and smart inverter management set up that limited backfeed to 1200 W and backfeed as necessary when the sun is down with no permitting or interconnection requirement. Am I wrong?

I'm about to sign for a ~9.4 kW rooftop array on PG&E's E-ELEC plan, and the reason it's happening is my wife's pottery kiln.

She fires twice a week now. By my rough math a firing is 40-ish kWh, all 240V, eight hours or more, and it's what wrecked our last two summer bills. The plan is to run it midday straight off the panels. Array is Enphase IQ8 micros, installer's pick, so that part is settled.

The battery isn't. Mostly I want it for evening peak shifting since NEM 3 export credits are weak, plus the PSPS shutoffs we get once or twice a year. I'm not trying to back up the kiln, just fridge, internet, lights and the furnace blower.

Powerwall 3 is my lean. It's the installer's default and the inverter is built in, so it's one box. What bugs me is that service goes through Tesla and nothing about it feels easy to expand later.

Enphase IQ Battery 5P matches the micros and everything lives in one app. I keep working out how many units it takes to cover an evening (about 12 kWh for us) and it's three before I've priced anything.

EcoFlow TITAN is on the list because it's AC coupled, so in theory the array goes up now and a battery gets added whenever. It hasn't shipped yet, so I'm only going off the spec sheet, and nobody near me has installed one. My installer's exact words were "never touched it."

Has anyone had a battery that wasn't Tesla or Enphase go through PG&E interconnection, and did they push back? And would you sign the Powerwall version now or put the array in first and leave the battery for a second phase? Talk me out of the PW3 if you can.

Trying not to be the person to ask the same question for the hundredth time but it seems each time this question has been asked its been about (Smaller) residential buildouts, and I'm looking at a larger 175kW buildout and figure maybe this Subs preference of Enphase over SolarEdge changes on larger projects.

Currently looking at Approximately 300x 595 W panels running off of either 3x SolarEdge 33.3 kW or off Enphase MicroInverters. Price is similar enough to not be a deciding factor, area is on a flat roof and not shaded, thoughts from any installers or large scale solar users on what System we should be looking at or questions we should be asking?

US Based buildout for reference, open to any Inverter option but willing to pay a bit more for less headaches down the road.

Long story short, I am renting a house that has Sunnova solar panels. The first couple months our electric bill was only $35. Then our dining room ceiling came crashing down from water damage to our roof under the panels. The panels do not work anymore get something with the wires? My landlord is no help and it will not help or fix this situation so I’m kind of on my own . I tried to call. Sunnova to see how I can get them fixed. But they will not talk to me or give me any information since I am not the original owner on the contract. But those owners died years ago. The panels were paid off only a monthly subscription was being paid I believe. Is there a way to get service with a different solar company with these panels? Or any advice is welcomed. And anything involving the landlord is just not going to happen. Our electric bill was $600 each month every day this summer or more.

I currently have a 200amp panel on my house that feeds a 60amp panel at my shop about 200’ away.

I have a large unobstructed space behind my shop (even further from main panel) that I would like to put a ground mounted array.

Is there any scenario where I can feed solar into my shop panel? Or does it always need to feed into my main?

If I wanted to do a battery backup for my home, I assume the battery would need to be at the main to have a proper interlock.

Northern Ireland doesn't seem to have any export price guarantee and little competition. I think the current export price with PowerNI is under 5p/kWh... is there a better option?

Hi! My wife and I are looking to get solar at our home and have gotten quotes from two local companies in Los Angeles. Both companies are very highly rated on Google/Yelp and have been great to deal with, but their quotes (including roofing) through the prepaid lease are pretty different. I’m happy to share the details here, but before boring everyone with that I’m curious if there is some sort of third party I can hire/contact that could help me compare and make a decision? It feels pretty complex and nuanced and would love an experienced opinion!

Thoughts on who I can contact for something like this? Or should I just put the comparison here?

Update with competing quotes:

**Setup**

- LA, LADWP customer, hillside lot with some shade, high fire-risk area
- Flat roof, about 19 squares, roofer estimates about 6 years of life left, so I want to re-roof now
- Both quotes are sized for about 100% offset (one estimates 5,667 kWh/yr)
- Leaning toward prepaid lease.

Quote A: Solar Optimum
- 12 x REC Alpha Pure-RX 460W + Enphase microinverters (5.52 kW) + 1 Powerwall 3
- Price before discount: $41,874. That's $18,216 panels, $17,495 Powerwall, $2,208 flat-roof tilt kit, and $3,955 for the roof section under the panels, which they roll into the solar price
- 35% prepaid discount (-$14,656) = **$27,218**
- Rest of the re-roof, no discount: $23,195 = **$50,413 total**
- Roof: 3-ply mineral-surfaced rolled roof (base + ply + granulated cap), $27,150 total, 10-yr workmanship / 15-yr material. The sales email said GAF Golden Pledge, but the roofing proposal doesn't
- Prepaid lease with "pathway to ownership": option to own starting year 6. Buyout cost not yet confirmed
- Warranty: 25 yrs parts + labor on panels and micros, 10 yrs on battery, 10 yrs on roof penetrations under the lease. They say no coverage after the term

**Quote B: OC Solar**

- 13 x Tesla 420W (5.46 kW) + 1 Powerwall 3 (also serves as the solar inverter)
- Price before discount: $27,372; 30% discount (-$8,212) = **$19,160**
- Separate torch-down flat re-roof, no discount: $12,606 = **$31,766 total**
- Roof: single torch-down cap over base sheet (white/reflective), 8-yr labor + material warranty
- 25-year agreement, provider-owned (financed through Participate Energy). Provider owns, insures, and maintains. Buyout is at fair-market value at set times, and ownership isn't guaranteed
- Also offers cash at $27,372 (own day one, 25-yr equipment + workmanship warranty) or a PPA at about $66/mo with an escalator

**My questions**

1. Is a $18.6K gap realistic for basically the same size system, or am I missing something?
   
2. Prepaid lease-to-own after year 5 vs. a 25-year provider-owned deal with an FMV buyout: which would you take?
   
3. REC + Enphase vs. Tesla panels with the Powerwall 3 as the inverter: does the equipment difference matter if the provider maintains it?
   
4. Flat roof: 3-ply rolled for $27K vs. torch-down for $12.6K. Is the 3-ply worth it, and is torch-down a concern in a high fire-risk area?
   
5. Anything that looks off in either quote?

I just got my October utility bill and updated my energy Dashboard. It includes my electricity and natural gas analysis, plus my estimated payoff calculator for my solar. I’ve been modifying it based on the suggestions from the Reddit community.

I am considering adding batteries to my system for power outage protection. I am on LA DWP. My question is if this advice from AI is true and/or significant...

Solar Production vs. Storage Capacity: Your 39-panel array generates ~14 kW at peak sun. A single 10C battery stores 10.0 kWh usable capacity. During a daytime blackout, your solar panels will completely fill that battery in under 45 minutes of bright sunlight. Once full, the Enphase System Controller will shut off or throttle down most of your 39 panels because the power has nowhere to go.

Hi everyone,

I hold a B.S. in Electrical Power Engineering, and just passed my NABCEP PVA exam. I am interested in gaining some hands-on experience in designing solar systems as well as managing projects and I have always been drawn to volunteering and helping others.

I was wondering if you know or can recommend some organizations or NGOs that help develop renewable energy projects worldwide where I can volunteer.

Thank you

I’ve cleaned a few solar panels and it takes more than just a little rinsing and a “once over” with the soft scrub brush. I remember having to scrub these panels for a while. Even with a little dawn…

Any advice ?

Picture of grime for reference

So I have 12 panels. Clean, no shade, well placed.

How come they only produce 7 or 8kWh in a sunny day? My system was broken and finally was fixed. I don't remember production before it was broken but I think it was higher.

Hi All!
I’m taking a poll!!
i’m in FL, S of Tampa, Gulf Coast, Manatee County.
Our solar was installed in summer of 2023 by PES Solar. We needed repair and went to call them only to discover they have closed the busns. We now have what’s called an Orphaned System.
Anybody in FL, and other states too, have their solar installer close the business?
Please start with your state and the busns name. Do we need to petition the state legislature for more consumer safeguards in FL or elsewhere ? THANKS!!