NEW JERSEY KNOWS, GROWS SOLAR

Clean energy laws, utility costs make New Jersey a solar hotbed
Abby Gruen, August 22, 2010 (Star-Ledger)

"…[A New Jersey homeowner] had been trying for nine years to figure out how to afford [a rooftop solar system when he read]…about a California company that had a better method for financing solar power…

"New Jersey is the hottest place in the United States for solar energy these days, and it is not because it is so sunny. The Garden State’s progressive clean energy laws and high electricity costs make it the best place to install solar power because systems can pay for themselves in less than five years — faster than any state in the nation…Mercury Solar Systems, one of the larger solar installers in New Jersey, built the array on [the homeowner’s] steep roof. But the financing, insurance and maintenance was handled by SunRun, the California-based company…"

Most Eastern states have enough sun to do what New Jersey is doing and they all have more sun than Germany, solar's world leader. (click to enlarge)

"The state’s burgeoning solar industry is attracting the attention of companies from around the country, especially from California, which has long been the nation’s largest solar market. Its 66,000 solar installations dwarf New Jersey’s 6,500 projects…[E]stablished San Francisco-area solar companies like SunRun, Tioga Energy and One Block off the Grid have been partnering with local installers and bringing new methods for financing solar to New Jersey…

"Since January, when SunRun started operating in New Jersey, the company has had a 60 percent growth rate each month, completing nearly 500 deals…The 3-year-old firm owns the solar panels, and sells the power back to the homeowners…In December, San Mateo-based Tioga Energy won a $22.3 million contract with its partner, SunDurance Energy of South Plainfield, to build a solar project at 19 municipal and school buildings…Tioga will own and maintain the equipment and sell the energy back to the county. The county will buy the power for less from Tioga than it would pay the local utility…"

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"…[The financing arrangement] combines power purchase agreements…and low-interest bonds…[and] allows the county to benefit from federal tax incentives and save $3.5 million in electricity costs over the next 15 years…New Jersey is a leader among states… using a solar renewable energy credit systems to encourage property owners to invest…[Its] solar renewable energy credits are the most generous in the nation, giving homeowners $655 for every megawatt of sun power they generate. That’s more than twice the amount for any other state…

"New Jersey’s solar credits can be traded on an exchange. One of the largest online marketplaces for New Jersey’s solar credits, SRECTrade, is based in San Francisco…SRECs from 15 states are sold through the auction site, but New Jersey’s make up the bulk of their business…While New Jersey is the second-largest solar market in the U.S. for installations after California, it lags behind the West Coast state considerably in solar product manufacturing. Petra Solar of South Plainfield is the only producer of solar panels…Recently [New Jersey’s] Kuran…opened an office in California…"