PSE&G Selects Sites and Developers for Four N.J. Solar Projects

— Jan 12, 2010

SE&G is starting the New Year by announcing on Jan. 6 that it has selected four sites and developers for more than $50 million in investments in 12 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected solar energy. PSE&G hopes to start construction at its sites in Edison, Hamilton, Linden and Trenton this spring, with projects completed this summer and fall. All four ground-mounted solar farms would be among the largest to be developed in New Jersey, with the Hamilton project being the largest in the state and the project in Linden the second largest. Approximately 150 jobs will be created when installation begins. A public information session is planned for Edison residents Jan. 7 and similar sessions are planned for other towns later this month.

“We're moving ahead with clean energy projects that will put people to work, installing tens of thousands of solar panels that will help the environment and stimulate the economy,” said Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G. “Investments like these will help New Jersey attract manufacturing jobs and help workers build the skills required to compete in the new green economy.”

The design and installation work will be completed by four different solar developers: J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, headquartered in Hackensack, N.J. (Edison; 2 MW); American Capital Energy; headquartered in North Chelmsford, Mass. (Hamilton, 5.1 MW); Advanced Solar Products; headquartered in Flemington, N.J. (Linden, 3.6 MW) and Sun Edison, headquartered in Beltsville, Md. (Trenton, 1.3 MW). With permission from local zoning and permitting boards, construction will begin in the spring. All four sites will utilize crystalline solar panel technology and have monitoring and communications functionality.

These four solar firms were chosen through a highly competitive and technical review process. By selecting multiple qualified solar firms, PSE&G is helping create jobs in New Jersey and grow the solar industry.

“We're excited to partner with PSE&G on this project, which will have a positive economic and environmental impact on our company and on the state of New Jersey. With a green light from local officials, we'll begin mobilization of a workforce, including new hires, who will design, construct and install thousands of solar panels that will bring green energy to Edison,” said Joseph T. Walsh, president of J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc., a Hackensack-based general contractor. “This project gives us an opportunity to grow our business and to help increase solar generation capacity in New Jersey.”

Together, the four projects will produce enough energy to power about 1,300 homes and eliminate some 6,700 tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of removing nearly 1,200 cars from the road for one year.

The projects are part of PSE&G's Solar 4 All program, which was approved by state regulators in July. The program involves a total of $515 million investment in 80 megawatts of solar, creating green jobs and nearly doubling the size of New Jersey's installed solar capacity. The state has made significant inroads in the last few years, installing more than 100 MW of solar energy, making it second only to California in terms of the amount of solar capacity installed.

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