Glossary

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates - (SRECs): SREC stands for Solar Renewable Energy Certificate and is a tradable certificate that represents all the clean energy benefits of electricity generated from your solar electric system. An SREC can be sold or traded separately from the power. It is issued once a solar facility has generated 1000kWh (1MWh), through either estimated or actual metered production.

Killowatt-Hour (kWh):

A Killowatt-hour is 1000 watts for a one hour period of time. Ten 100-watt light bulbs left on for an hour would use one Kilowatt-hour. In New Jersey, the average cost of a kWh is 15.5 cents, and the average annual household use is 8,386 kWh.

Megawatt-Hour (MWh):

A Megawatt-hour is simply 1000 kilowatt-hours.

Direct Current (DC):

This is the type of electricity produced by a solar panel or a car battery.

Alternating Current (AC):

This is the type of electricity you buy from the Power company and use for things like lamps, microwaves, and televisions.

Solar Inverter:

This converts the DC energy produced by solar panels to AC energy used in your home.

NJBPU:

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. They require that electricity suppliers that serve New Jersey must provide a percentage of that electric portfolio produced from renewable resources, such as solar electricity.

RPS:

Renewable portfolio standard. This is how much renewable energy the utility companies must provide from renewable resources, such as solar electricity. The RPS, when enacted in 1999, was initially set at 2.5 % of total electricity usage; the target is 20% renewable energy by 2020.

Photovoltaic (PV):

Converts light to electricity. Traditional solar panels are photovoltaic.

Cells:

Solar panels are made up of individual cells, usually less than six inches across each. They make up the pattern you can see on each panel.

Module:

An individual solar panel.