Solar by the Pole
By the end of next year there might be too many utility pole-mounted solar panels in New Jersey to count.
That's because one of the major utilities there is expected to complete installation of panels on from 100,000 to 200,000 poles throughout the state. And that's just one of the initiatives in various programs to add well over 100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) generated electricity to the grid.
I recently spoke with Al Matos, the vice president for renewables for PSE&G, the regulated utility in New Jersey, which is a unit of Public Service Enterprise Group.
The ubiquitous pole program is probably the most visible part of the Solar 4 All initiative. "The utility will invest and own and operate solar systems totaling 80 megawatts, a $515 million investment throughout the state over the next three years," Matos said. "Half of those 80 megawatts is composed of pole-attached panels, what we call `neighborhood solar.'"
The power is fed directly into the grid. "People who can't afford solar in their homes are getting it because we're practically ensuring that every neighborhood has at least a pole with some solar energy," he added.
The other half of Solar 4 All is the 40 megawatts of projects PSE&G is planning. The major share of those - 25 megawatts - will be built on utility properties. The rest will be divided between state-designated "urban enterprise zones" and sites owed by third parties who proposed 60 megawatts-worth of projects for a program that was limited to 10 megawatts of available capacity.
Another successful model is the $250 million home loan program, in which the utility essentially acts like a bank.
"We have 15 megawatts of projects actually generating electricity that we have financed from our home program," Matos said. "There are another 32 megawatts that are under development."
Matos explained that the loan program provides anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent of the total financing for either a residence or business to own their own solar. The borrower has to put up their own capital, but after the federal investment tax credits and other rebates are counted, the out-of-pocket expense is much less than 50 percent of the system's cost.
PSE&G aggregates the environmental attributes from the home program and auctions them in the solar renewable energy credit (S-REC) markets. The floor price set by state regulators for S-RECs protects the borrowers and any additional proceeds are returned to the ratepayers.
So far, the system works as a win for the utility and homeowners who want renewable energy and a fledgling solar power business in the state.
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