Interstate Renewable Energy Council

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Score Your Program

Score Your Program

Score Your Program

IREC Scorecard Scoring Tool

The Scoring Tool below provides policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders with a mechanism to identify the various elements of any shared renewable energy program and evaluate that program’s strengths and weaknesses. Although the Tool is currently designed for evaluation of statewide policies and programs, it may still provide useful insight into voluntary utility programs. The Scoring Tool takes users through a series of questions that reflect the same criteria that IREC used to score active state programs for the National Shared Renewables Scorecard. Users can apply the questions to either an existing program or one that has yet to be implemented. Once users submit their responses at the end of the Scoring Tool, they will receive a grade for their program.

This Tool is meant to provide users with a resource that can assist them in working through critical components in the design and implementation of a robust shared renewables program. Users should be sure to answer all of the questions in order to get a complete and accurate grade. The Tool will not return a grade unless fully completed. Within the Tool, users can access pop-up windows that define many of the terms used, and users may also refer to the Scorecard Definitions for clarification of terms and provisions.
Category: General Program Details
Is the program already in existence (i.e., is it an active program)?*
- Yes
- No
'Sunset date' means the specific date the program is set to end, if applicable.
Does the program have at least 100 megawatts of shared renewables capacity installed?*
- Yes
- No
Is the program time-limited (i.e., is there a specific sunset date for the program)?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'no' for pilot programs that could continue beyond the initial pilot phase.
'Sunset date' means the specific date the program is set to end, if applicable.
Does the program have an aggregate capacity limit?*
- Yes
- No
'Aggregate capacity limit' means the cap on the size of the entire program, if applicable.
Does the state in which the program will be implemented receive an 'A' grade for interconnection in Freeing the Grid? (www.freeingthegrid.org)*
- Yes
- No
Interconnection standards are the legal rules and procedures for 'plugging' a renewable energy system into the power grid. Go to www.freeingthegrid.org for more information and to see which interconnection grade corresponds with each state. Note: Freeing the Grid interconnection grades are updated annually.
Does the program have specific component(s) to promote low- to moderate-income customer participation (e.g., capacity carve-out or target)?*
- Yes
- No
A 'capacity carve-out' is a set amount of renewables capacity reserved for low- to moderate-income (LMI) program participants. A 'target' could be a percentage of participants that must be LMI customers or the amount of capacity that is intended to serve LMI participants.
Does the program explicitly address financial barriers faced by low- to moderate-income participants (e.g., incentives, on-bill financing, alternative credit criteria, loan-loss reserve, etc.)?*
- Yes
- No
Financial barriers could be addressed within the shared renewables program itself (e.g., incentives directly associated with the program) or through a separate program or state entity (e.g., state green bank).
Does the program have any specific requirements regarding low- to moderate-income customer marketing, education, and outreach?*
- Yes
- No
Does the program specifically require the utility or other relevant entity to provide publicly available data regarding installed and queued capacity that is updated on a regular basis?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'yes' if data are reported on at least an annual basis but best practice is reporting data on at least a monthly basis.
'Queued capacity' includes renewable energy projects that are under review by the utility but not installed.
Category: Customers and Subscriptions
Are all customer classes eligible for the program?*
- Yes
- No
'Eligible customer classes' means the customer rate classes (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) that can participate in the program.
Does the program include a mechanism to ensure residential and small commercial participation (i.e. mandates, incentives, etc.)?*
- Yes
- No
Is the minimum subscription size 1 kW or less (including no specified lower limit)?*
- Yes
- No
'Minimum subscription size' means the minimum size allowed for a customer's subscription under the program's rules, if specified.
Does the program have a maximum subscription size?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'yes' if program's subscription size limitation is based on customer load or usage (e.g, 120% of average annual usage).
'Maximum subscription size' means the maximum size allowed for a customer's subscription under the program's rules, if specified.
Do the program rules allow for at least a 1-year minimum participation term?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'yes' even if the program allows an exception for low- and moderate-income customers to have shorter participation terms.
'Minimum participation term' means the minimum length of time that a subscriber must participate in the program if specified.
Does the program allow for at least a 20-year maximum participation term?*
- Yes
- No
"Maximum participation term" means the maximum length of time that a subscriber may participate in the program, if specified.
Does the program explicitly permit portability?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'no' if program rules do not explicitly address portability.
'Portability' means a customer's subscription can move with the customer when the customer moves within the utility's service territory.
Does the program explicitly permit transferability?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'no' if program rules do not explicitly address transferability.
'Transferability' means a customer's subscription can be transferred to another customer or back to the subscriber organization, for example, if the customer leaves the utility's service territory.
Category: Generation Systems
Are other renewables (in addition to solar PV and as defined by state law) considered eligible technologies under the program?*
- Yes
- No
Is third-party facility ownership permitted?*
- Yes
- No
Example 1: Third party owns the facility and has a contract with the utility, but utility manages program participation. Example 2: Third party owns the facility and manages all or most aspects of program participation. Example 3: Any other third-party-ownership-based models permitted by the program.
'Ownership' considers whether the shared renewable energy facilities participating in the program may be owned by utilities, non-utilities, or both. 'Third-party facility' means a facility owned by an entity that is neither the customer nor the utility (e.g., a private developer).
Is third-party facility and participation management permitted?*
- Yes
- No
'Management' refers to the management of the shared renewable energy facility, including managing subscribers, project marketing, and other responsibilities, and considers whether the facility may be managed by utilities, non-utilities, or both.
Do program rules ensure fair competition (e.g., neutral, non-utility program administrator, utility participation through unregulated affiliate, and/or other requirements)?
- Yes
- No
Note: this is applicable in cases where both third-party and utility management is permitted.
Is the system size limit at least 5 megawatts (MW)?*
- Yes
- No
'System size limit' means the cap on the total capacity of an individual system (or project), in kilowatts or megawatts, that can participate in the program, if specified.
Does the program require a minimum of 2 or 3 subscribers?*
- Yes
- No
Note: Answer 'yes' if program rules limit subscription shares to no more than 40% of a facility's output AND do not require more than 3 subscribers.
'Minimum number of subscribers' means the minimum number of customers who may subscribe to a facility under program rules, if applicable.
Does the program specify a maximum number of subscribers?*
- Yes
- No
'Maximum number of subscribers' means the upper limit of customers who may subscribe to a facility under program rules, if applicable.
Does the program allow both on- and off-site facilities?*
- Yes
- No
'On-site facilities' are shared renewable energy projects that must be located at the site where the energy will be consumed (e.g. a facility connected to a multi-tenant property). 'Off-site facilities' are projects that are not located on the same site as a subscriber or subscribers.
Do the program rules explicitly address whether or not facilities can be co-located?*
- Yes
- No
Facilities may be considered 'co-located' on a single project site if they exhibit other characteristics of a single development, for example, a common ownership structure, an umbrella sale arrangement, shared interconnection, revenue-sharing arrangements, and/or common financing.
Can the facility and customers be located anywhere within the utility service territory?*
- Yes
- No
Category: Bill Credit
Are benefits allocated via bill credits?*
- Yes
- No
'Bill credits' refer to the value provided to subscribers on their utility bill for their share of energy produced by the shared renewable energy facility.
Is the bill credit valuation (whether embedded cost, value-based, or other) above the avoided cost rate for utility?*
- Yes
- No
"Embedded Cost" means the approach whereby the bill credit value is calculated by multiplying (1) the subscriber’s share of the kWh electricity production from the facility and (2) the subscriber’s retail rate, with the value potentially adjusted to remove certain rate components (e.g., the distribution charge).
"Value-Based" means the approach whereby the bill credit value is calculated by multiplying (1) the subscriber’s share of the kWh electricity production from the facility and (2) the value of the electricity produced as determined by the responsible regulatory body or agency, taking into account costs and benefits.
Please refer to IREC's "Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs" for a more thorough discussion of bill credit valuation approaches.
A utility's "avoided cost rate" reflects the cost the utility would have incurred for the same amount of energy acquired through another means such as construction of a new production facility or purchase from an alternate supplier. Avoided cost is typically used to calculate the rate for Qualifying Facities (QFs) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Therefore, a utility's PURPA QF rate or tariff could be a place to look for this rate comparison.
Does the program meet one or more of the following conditions: 1) Bill credit is valued at the retail rate; 2) Bill credit includes values for generation and at least some portion of the transmission and/or distribution charges; or 3) RECs are used to provide value in addition to the bill credit.*
- Yes
- No
Does the bill credit value reflect locational components or adders for optimal/beneficial grid locations?
- Yes
- No
'Locational component' means the program's valuation of bill credits is affected by the location of the facility and/or customers. Please refer to IREC's 'Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs' for more information about locational benefits that may be included in bill credit valuation.
Is the valuation methodology (whether embedded cost, value-based, or other) clearly articulated in statute, rules, and/or tariff?*
- Yes
- No
'Valuation methodology' refers to the method used to determine the value of the bill credit provided to subscribers.
Is unsubscribed generation clearly treated and valued at least at an avoided cost rate?*
- Yes
- No
'Unsubscribed Generation' means any electricity generated by a facility that is not assigned to subscribers.
Category: Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)
Are subscribed Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) clearly treated?*
- Yes
- No
'Renewable Energy Credits' (or 'RECs') means the tradable instruments that include all renewable and environmental attributes associated with the production of electricity from a shared renewable energy facility. 'Treated,' in the context of RECs, means how the program handles RECs, if specified.
Does the customer retain ownership of the RECs unless they enter into a separate contract dictating otherwise? Alternatively, are the RECs retired on behalf of the customer?
- Yes
- No
Are unsubscribed RECs clearly treated?*
- Yes
- No
'Unsubscribed RECs' means the RECs associated with electricity generated by a shared renewable energy facility that are not assigned to subscribers.
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Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC)
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Latham, New York, 12110-1156

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