| August 13, 2009 |
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Are you one of those drivers who slow down when passing a solar panel on a home or business and say to your kids, “Someday you will see those everywhere.”
Well, that someday is just around the corner.
Last month, PSE&G received approval to mount solar units on 200,000 utility poles in New Jersey’s six largest cities and roughly 300 other suburban and rural communities where the utility supplies electric service. That’s about one out of every four poles. In three short years, you will not be able to go for a ride in your car without passing a few – or several dozen – of these solar units.
The panels will not be powering lights mounted on the poles, but will feed electricity directly into the grid, providing clean, emissions-free energy to all PSE&G customers.
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An important added benefit is they will be creating green jobs. Some 100 people will be needed to install the units over the next three years, and another 100 will be employed by Petra Solar, a South Plainfield company that will produce the units for PSE&G right here in New Jersey.
Under the program recently approved by the Board of Public Utilities, aptly named Solar 4 All, PSE&G will install 80 megawatts of solar generation by 2013. That is enough to power about 64,000 homes. Half of the energy will come from the pole-mounted solar installations and the other half from Solar Gardens, land-based solar installations that can power several hundred to a few thousand homes.
Utility businesses in New Jersey no longer own power plants, but it makes sense for them to be the owners of solar facilities. The sun is free, but turning its rays into electricity is not. Solar power is still more expensive than traditional generation and requires tax credits and state subsidies to spur development.
If a home or business owner invests in solar, we all benefit from cleaner air and less dependency on foreign oil, while the owner receives the tax and state subsidies, which are paid for by all taxpayers and ratepayers. However, if the utility owns solar facilities, the benefits – tax credits, the sale of solar credits and the value of generated electricity – flow back to the customer.
Utility-owned solar is a win all around – for the environment, our customers and for New Jersey.
What’s your view? Please let us know at Opinion@PSEG.com.
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