LINDEN, N.J., Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Service
Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is marking construction of its
Linden Solar Farm on the doorstep of PSEG's Linden Generating
Station. The 3.2-megawatt facility is one of four ground-mounted
solar farms that PSE&G is developing as part of its
$515 million Solar 4 All™ program. It
is one of three solar farms being built on former brownfields that
have been returned to a useful role.
The Linden farm is one of more
than 20 solar projects that PSE&G is developing through its
Solar 4 All program, with a total investment of more than
$140 million that will create almost
300 jobs and provide New Jersey
with 30 megawatts of solar-generated power.
"The Linden Solar Farm shows how the benefits of solar power
extend far beyond just producing clean, carbon-free electricity,"
said Al Matos, PSE&G's vice
president of renewables and energy solutions. "This project
exemplifies PSE&G's environmental commitment and its leadership
position in renewable energy. We are giving new life to a
once-contaminated site."
"With our solar arrays here in Linden, as well as those in Edison and Trenton, we are helping to turn brownfields
green – and give these long-dormant sites a new purpose," Matos
continued. "By the end of this year, these three solar farms will
be providing enough electricity to power about 1,000 average-sized
homes, while creating jobs and helping New Jersey to become a major player in the
renewable energy sector."
The Linden Solar Farm will comprise 11,484 solar panels covering
a little more than 10 acres of PSE&G property and will be
connected directly to the electric grid for the benefit of all
PSE&G electric customers. The solar farm will produce enough
electricity to power about 525 average-sized homes.
PSE&G is developing the four ground-mounted solar farms on
PSE&G-owned properties in Linden, Yardville (4.4 megawatts), Edison (2 megawatts) and Trenton (1.3 megawatts). Each will be among
New Jersey's largest solar farms.
The sites will utilize crystalline solar panel technology and have
monitoring and communications functionality. In addition, PSE&G
is building a 1-megawatt solar system on the roof of its Central
Electric headquarters in Somerset,
N.J., and a 700-kilowatt solar system at its Edison Training
and Development Center facility in Edison, N.J. There also are four solar
systems built on the grounds of five Newark Public Schools as part of the Solar 4
All program.
The 20-plus projects under development will produce enough
energy to power about 4,900 homes and eliminate 23,000 metric tons
of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of removing nearly 2,800 cars
from the road for one year.
PSE&G is using leading solar energy companies to help deploy
solar farms across the state to help drive New Jersey's economic growth in this sector.
Advanced Solar Products, a premier developer of solar energy
projects, is responsible for the deployment of the Linden project.
State regulators approved PSE&G's Solar 4 All program in
July 2009. The program involves a
$515 million investment in 80
megawatts of solar power, creating green jobs and vastly increasing
the amount of renewable energy capacity in the state of
New Jersey
The program's first segment consists of installing up to 40
megawatts of pole-attached smart solar units in neighborhoods on
utility poles in PSE&G's service territory, which includes the
state's six largest cities and roughly 300 rural and suburban
communities. This is the largest pole-attached solar
installation in the world, with the smart solar units connected
directly into PSE&G's electric distribution system.
The second segment of the Solar 4 All program focuses on 40
megawatts of centralized solar facilities, such as the Linden Solar
Farm and other solar sites on PSE&G owned or leased
properties.
The financial benefits that Solar 4 All produces – federal tax
investment credits, sale of the energy and capacity, as well as
monetizing the solar environmental credits (SRECs) – are returned
to PSE&G electric ratepayers to reduce the overall cost of the
program.
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is
New Jersey's oldest and largest
regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving nearly
three-quarters of the state's population. PSE&G is the winner
of the ReliabilityOne Award for superior electric system
reliability. PSE&G is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise
Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a diversified energy company
(www.pseg.com).
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SOURCE Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G)