Solar 4 All is a 125 megawatt-dc (MW-dc) program that utilizes rooftops, parking lots, utility poles and landfills/brownfields for large-scale, grid connected solar projects.
• The program was initially approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in 2009 allowing PSE&G to invest up to $515 million to install 80MW-dc of solar capacity (all installed to date).
• The BPU approved an extension to the program in 2013 allowing PSE&G to invest up to $247 million more to install 42MW-dc of solar capacity on landfills and brownfields and 3MW-dc in solar pilot programs for storm hardening and grid resiliency.
• On May 11, 2016 PSE&G filed a request with the BPU for a second extension to the program that will allow PSE&G to invest approximately $275 million to install another 100MW-dc of solar capacity on additional landfills and brownfields. All Solar 4 All installations are grid-connected to PSE&G’s distribution system and the power is sold into the PJM wholesale power grid. As of May 2016, more than 115 MW-dc of the 125MW-dc total are in service.
• The Solar 4 All program supports New Jersey’s clean energy goals by turning underutilized landfills and brownfields green with solar panels and promoting a cleaner environment, while also spurring economic development, creating jobs and making our state a center for solar development.
• PSE&G is a national leader in landfill/brownfield solar development. Reclaiming and reusing brownfield and landfill sites as viable solar resources increases the amount of solar generation in the state and also gives new purpose to land that would otherwise have very limited opportunities for development.
• These landfill solar projects are about 40 percent less expensive1 than typical residential net metered solar project. This is attributable to the economies of scale that can be realized for labor and procurement and installation of equipment combined with lower cost of capital, lower customer acquisition costs and higher capacity factors that can be realized. Utility scale solar projects will help New Jersey to meet its RPS in a more cost effective, efficient manner.
• The program benefits PSE&G customers by connecting solar power directly into the PSE&G electric grid. Solar 4 All will provide enough solar electricity to power about 20,000 average-size New Jersey homes annually.
• The revenue PSE&G receives from the sale of Solar 4 All solar energy and capacity the sale of the solar credits (SRECs) and the federal investment tax credit (ITC) realized is returned to ratepayers by offsetting the overall cost of the Solar 4 All Program.
• Of the 28 centralized solar projects currently in service four are located on PSE&G remediated brownfield sites (Trenton, NJ; Silver Lake/Edison, NJ; Linden, NJ and Hackensack, NJ), and, four are located on closed landfill sites in Bordentown, NJ, Deptford, NJ, Eastampton, NJ and Kearny, NJ. These sites utilize more than 170 acres of landfill and brownfield space by installing more than 150,000 solar panels, which generate nearly 45 MW-dc of solar power. That’s enough to power about 7,500 homes annually.
o The Parklands Solar Farm transformed 40 acres of landfill space in Bordentown, New Jersey into a solar generation powerhouse by installing 33,402 solar panels. It went into service in December 2014
o The Kinsley Solar Farm fills 32 acres of unused landfill space in Deptford, New Jersey, with 36,841 solar panels. It went into service in 2014
o The L&D Solar Farm transformed more than 50 acres of landfill space that spans Eastampton, Lumberton and Mount Holly, NJ into a 12.93 MW-dc solar facility. It is the largest Solar 4 All project to date and went in service in late December, 2015
o In 2016, PSE&G will develop the IRL Landfill in Edison, NJ into a 7.75MWdc solar farm. That will complete the 42 megawatt-dc landfill/brownfield portion of the current Solar 4 All extension program.
The three megawatt-dc Solar 4 All pilot program develops projects that integrate solar with other technologies to reduce the impact solar has on the grid or integrates solar with other technologies to demonstrate reliability and grid resiliency for critical facilities during prolonged power outages.
• There is one project in service at Hopewell Valley Central High School to turn the school into a solar/battery powered warming station during extended power outages and another project at Cooper University Hospital in Camden to create a solar/battery powered system that will help preserve vital medications during extended power outages.
Solar 4 All also features 40MW-dc of pole-attached solar (174,000 solar units), which saves space while generating highly distributed solar energy. A 40MW-dc solar farm would require about 140 acres, or about 110 football fields, of land. The 40MW-dc of utility pole mounted solar units occupies no real estate.
Recommended reading: PSEG