What needs to be in place before you're paid
Before we can send your first payment, four things need to be done:
Your signup is complete.
Your system is registered and approved with PJM GATS, the SREC registry. Some states also require an application to the state agency to be accepted, on top of your GATS registration.
Energy production reporting is set up so we can track what your system generates.
You've linked a bank account in your RECmint account for direct deposit. If you can't use direct deposit, call or email us to ask for paper checks instead — they're much slower, so we recommend direct deposit.
Not signed up yet? Create an account at recmint.com and click Get Started — your RECmint account walks you through each of these steps.
How the process works
Once your sign-up, registration, energy reporting, and bank account are all in place, your system's production reaches you as a payment in four steps. We handle most of it for you:
Register — we register your system with PJM GATS, the registry that certifies your SRECs.
Track your production — each month, we report your system's production to PJM GATS. You can see it anytime on your RECmint account's "View Production, SRECs, & Payments" page.
Mint — once a month's production is submitted, it takes about 1–2 weeks to process into SRECs.
Get paid — once your SRECs are minted, we sell them or apply your payout option's terms, then send your payment.
When to expect your first payment
Once everything is in place, most customers can expect their first payment in about 5 to 12 weeks. That's an estimate, not a guarantee: exact timing depends on your state's registration timeline, when your system earns its first SREC, and your payout option — payment cadence differs by option.
My SRECs are minted but I haven't been paid — why?
On Market, you're paid when your SRECs (solar renewable energy certificates) sell, not when they're minted. On Fixed Rate you're paid quarterly. On Upfront you're paid once, within 45 days of your first SREC minting after you signed. Minting creates them in the registry. Selling them is a separate step, and how long that takes depends mostly on how old they are.
Each SREC carries two dates:
Month of generation — when your system produced the energy.
Mint date — when the SREC was created in the registry.
SRECs whose generation month falls in the current year sell most readily — they change hands on average every one to four months. SRECs generated in earlier years sell less often, and can take several months.
Not every SREC we mint can be sold. Each state sets a date, tied to when your system was registered, before which SRECs are minted but can never be sold. If your system was producing before you registered with RECmint, your first batch can include SRECs from that earlier period — and some of those may fall on the wrong side of your state's line. Ask us and we'll tell you which of your SRECs are sellable and which aren't.
We sell the SRECs we can, as soon as we can, at the best price we can get. We email you whenever a payment is on its way, so there's nothing you need to watch for. If you want to know where a specific batch stands, email us and we'll check your account directly.
If you're in Maryland, one fee comes out of your payment
If your system qualifies for Brighter Tomorrow, we pay the Maryland PSC registration fee for you. It is $50 for systems under 20 kW AC and $200 for 20 kW AC and above. We deduct it from your REC payment, so you never pay the Commission directly. If you already paid it with your original registration, we don't charge it again.