A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) enables business owners to benefit from the use of "green" energy, while receiving the advantages of ownership such as lower and predictable electricity costs, presenting a positive public image, etc. Purchasing power instead of an entire system, allows businesses to use their capital budgets for their core business.

With a PPA, the purchaser hosts the solar system on its premises and purchases the electricity produced by the system at a predictable rate that is lower and less inflationary than predicted utility rates.

Benefits of being green achieves greater profits for your company, reduces your carbon footprint and promotes corporate responsibility. By using clean energy, corporations are helping to reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.

• A PPA provides private, public and tax exempt entities a capital free means to obtain solar energy.
• The Solar Center (TSC) through its investment partners provides the capital to design and install a solar energy system at a customer's site.
• The solar energy system will generate reliable, long-term, clean energy for use by the customer at a rate lower than the current utility rates and at a predictable inflation rate.
• The PPA provider takes responsibility for the maintenance and operation of the solar system throughout the duration of the power purchase arrangement and assumes the risks and responsibilities of ownership.
• TSC provides preventative maintenance services, repair any faults, and monitor the energy production.
• At the end of the PPA term, the facility can be purchased by the customer at fair market value or the PPA can be renewed on favorable terms.

• Do you have a minimum of 10,000 square feet of unobstructed space such as a south facing roof, parking lot or unused ground space that is suitable for the installation of a solar electric system (i.e. without shading from trees or adjacent buildings)?
• Do you have a relatively new roof with a solid underlying building structure?
• Is the cost of your electric consumption at least $1,000 per month?
• Is your company credit-worthy and able to enter into an energy supply arrangement?
• Do you own the building or are you a long-term lessor that pays the electric bills?
• The building is located in a state that has net metering laws? (such as NJ or NY)
• Are you able to enter into a 15 to 20 year contract?
  (Schools or Municipalities may not be legally able to enter into contracts over 5 years)

An SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificate) is the clean environmental "attribute" associated with the production of a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity from a renewable source of energy, such as the sun, wind or water. Owners of renewable energy systems can now sell the SRECs associated with the electricity produced by their solar electric system in certain states (NJ).

RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD (RPS): A policy that requires utilities who sell electricity to have a certain percentage of renewable power in their mix. These policies often start around 1-5% in the first year and require an increasing percentage of renewables in each year following, often aiming for a goal of 4-20% in about 10 years. RPS policies typically involve a credit trading mechanism so that producers of renewable power can sell the extra "credits" to suppliers to help utilities meet their RPS requirement.

In New Jersey

In NJ, these SRECs are referred to as SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates).

The market for SRECs has come about because suppliers of electricity in New Jersey are required to acquire an increasing percentage of the electricity they supply in the state from clean renewable sources of energy. This requirement is embodied in New Jersey's Renewable Portfolio Standard. Suppliers of electricity can either build their own renewable energy systems or they can buy the SRECs from individuals and businesses that install or own renewable energy systems. Homeowners who purchase solar electric systems can now expect to receive annual payments of hundreds of dollars when they sell the SRECs associated with the electric production of their system.