State officials on Thursday kicked off a $156 million solar energy program with the aim of powering New Jersey's low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the state's Solar for All initiative is projected to save New Jersey residents $250 million on their energy bills over 30 years. In addition to economic benefits, the program has been touted as a key measure to reduce emissions that contribute to stronger heat waves, more intense storms and rising sea levels.
"New Jersey’s $156 million Solar for All award will result in significant emissions reductions and millions of dollars in energy bill savings, including for thousands of low-income, disadvantaged community households," New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy said Thursday at a rooftop community solar site in Edison.
Guhl-Sadovy was joined at the Edison site by EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., local officials and solar developers. The project there, developed by Solar Landscape, is the type the state initiative was created to support, officials said. Located atop a Prologis warehouse on Patrick Avenue, the 2.82-megawatt system will serve about 440 households, roughly half of which are classified as low- to moderate-income. It is expected to reduce their annual energy bills by more than $250.
The state and national Solar for All programs were created through the Inflation Reduction Act to expand access to solar energy, particularly for families that cannot install solar panels on their own homes, such as renters and those with shaded roofs. Those residents can instead join shared solar sites like the one in Edison and receive credits on their utility bills.
“Projects like the one in Edison are exactly what I envisioned when I fought to include these critical climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Pallone said. “This initiative will make clean energy accessible to everyone, especially in low-income and disadvantaged communities, while creating jobs and saving families money.”
The Edison project has benefited from tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and is part of the Community Solar Energy Program signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy in January 2024. The federal funding will help further expand the state program and jump-start similar projects, officials said.
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Through cross-agency collaboration, state officials identified four areas to address with the federal funding: residential solar, multifamily housing solar and storage, residential-serving community solar and technical assistance, and workforce development.
Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said the initiative is more than an attempt to mitigate climate change and clean up our air.
"Not only will community solar help our environment, but it will bring real savings to New Jersey residents and provide good-paying, family-sustaining jobs in the clean-energy economy,” he said.
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New Jersey’s Solar for All award is expected to help deploy more 175 megawatts of solar energy and benefit 22,000 households within the first five years of funding. This initiative is also expected to result in the reduction of 240,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, about $250 million in total energy bill savings and 90 megawatt hours of energy storage through the Board of Public Utilities’ multifamily solar program.
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State officials said they anticipate using the federal funds beginning in 2025, with more solar projects like the one in Edison in the works. The federal funding will also support grid improvements and job training, officials said.
On the national level, EPA officials estimate that the 60 selected applicants for Solar for All funding will enable more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from distributed solar energy. The $7 billion total program investment is projected to generate over $350 million in annual savings on electric bills, reduce 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and unlock four gigawatts of solar energy capacity for low-income communities over its first five years.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Jersey launches $156 million solar energy program to benefit low-income communities
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