JACKSONVILLE, Fla.,
Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Public
Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and JEA today hosted business,
community and government leaders at the dedication of PSEG
Jacksonville Solar, northern Florida's largest solar facility.
PSEG Jacksonville Solar is a 15-megawatt facility consisting of
200,000 ground mounted solar panels situated on 100 acres in
Jacksonville, Florida. On a
sunny day the panels will produce enough emissions-free electricity
to keep the lights on and air conditioning humming for more than
12,000 homes in Jacksonville.
PSEG Jacksonville Solar is the largest solar installation owned
by PSEG Solar Source, PSEG's unregulated solar developer. The
local municipal utility, JEA initiated the solar effort and has a
long-term agreement with PSEG Solar Source to purchase the
electricity generated by the solar panels. Florida based
Miller Electric Company was the primary construction contractor.
Nearly all of the construction jobs created by the project were
filled by Florida residents.
"The solar market in the US is growing fast and we are growing
with it. PSEG believes there are strong benefits to promoting
a green economy: reductions in CO2 and other pollutants, less
reliance on foreign oil (as we electrify transportation) and the
creation of jobs," said Ralph Izzo,
chairman, president and CEO of PSEG. "This project shows how
solar can deliver clean energy to customers, jobs for the local
economy and fair returns to investors."
"JEA made a commitment to pursue renewable, clean energy in
1999, at a time when going green wasn't a trend," said Jim Dickenson, JEA Managing Director and CEO.
"This partnership with PSEG allows JEA to further its commitment
and to gain first-hand knowledge about solar energy from a
utility-scale facility."
"PSEG Solar Source can locate solar facilities anywhere in the
US but chose Jacksonville for
three reasons: strong Florida sun,
a partner in JEA with a vision for delivering clean energy to its
customers and a political climate that is supportive of solar
development," said Diana Drysdale,
who heads PSEG Solar Source. "While this is our largest
product to date, it is not our last. We are actively
developing additional solar projects here in the US."
juwi solar USA Inc. (JSI), based in Colorado was the engineering, procurement and
construction contractor and developed the facility. The
panels were manufactured by First Solar. Photos and fact
sheet of PSEG Jacksonville Solar are available at
www.pseg.com/Jacksonville.
PSEG (NYSE: PEG) is a diversified energy company based in
Newark, NJ and currently the
fourth largest owner of solar facilities in the US. PSEG
Solar Source's other utility scale solar projects are the
12-megawatt PSEG Wyandot Solar Farm (the largest in Ohio) and the 2-megawatt Mars Solar Garden in Hackettstown, New Jersey (which provides power
to the adjacent M&Ms plant). PSE&G, a regulated PSEG gas
and electric company in NJ, is currently building the largest and
second largest solar facilities in New
Jersey, as well as installing grid connected solar panels on
200,000 utility poles in that state. PSEG is the 2010 recipient of
the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the electric
industry's highest honor.
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JEA is a not-for-profit, community-owned electric, water, and
sewer utility located in northeast Florida, which includes Jacksonville, Florida. The utility has a
net generating capacity of 3,238 megawatts. The energy
purchased from this facility will add 12.6 MW to JEA's renewable
portfolio. JEA's renewable portfolio includes solar
photovoltaic systems on local facilities, landfill gas-to-energy,
biogas from JEA's wastewater treatment facility and a 10 MW share
of wind power from Nebraska Public Power District.
SOURCE Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
Copyright . 28 PR Newswire