Mayfield Renewables announced that Jacob Betcher has been appointed as its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately. Betcher is an accomplished engineering professional and proven business leader having been an engineering manager at Generac Power Systems and COO at Apricity.

First Solar announced that Brian Willis is the new manager, corporate communications & external relations. Will was previously director of communications at Pioneer Public Affairs and at Zero Emission Transportation Association.

Meteomatics, the weather intelligence and technology company , is expanding work with U.S. energy companies and investors with the appointments of Durjoy Mazumdar as North America’s head of sales and Chris Hyde as senior sales manager for North America. Mazumdar and Hyde will lead Meteomatics’ continued expansion into the U.S. energy market, as it equips companies and investors with hyperlocal weather intelligence to predict energy demand and consumption in real-time.

ThinkLabs AI, Inc., a startup focused on developing technology to help enhance electric grid planning and operations through a combination of intelligent automation and AI, announced the appointment of five new senior team members:

As the chief technology officer at Thinklabs AI, Neal Vali drives the company’s overall technology strategy and vision. Prior to Thinklabs AI, Neal was the Head of Data and ML Engineering at GE Vernova, where he played a pivotal role in redefining Grid Orchestration using cloud-native solutions.

Gang Zheng, director of research and development at ThinkLabs, worked as the director of autonomous grid orchestration and senior manager of WAMS at GE. There, he led a software development and delivery team across the U.S. and Canada, focusing on product development, project delivery, and user support. His team successfully delivered key projects such as real-time distribution system state estimation, distribution model validation, and an oscillation source location system for power grids.

Chaitanya Baone, head of product at ThinkLabs brings over 12 years of experience in power and energy management products across T&D grid planning and operations, microgrids, EV smart charging and energy storage optimization. Baone has a proven track record of driving growth through innovation and has held leadership roles in R&D, engineering and product management organizations across GE, Eaton, Rivian and Itron.

Surendranath (Suren) Vallabhajosyula is the head of machine learning & data engineering at ThinkLabs. In this role, he is responsible for defining and building the company’s machine learning platform, overseeing application design, architecture, security practices, and infrastructure for multi-cloud data and machine learning applications. Before joining ThinkLabs, Suren served as the senior director of architecture and data platforms at Toyota Financial Services (TFS). There, he spearheaded the development of a secure, scalable, multi-tenant global data platform to support various data and machine learning initiatives.

Before becoming the Head of Finance at ThinkLabs AI, Vimali Pathmanathan, CPA, CA worked for GE Vernova and Opus One Solutions (acquired by GE Vernova in 2022) for seven years. She held key roles as controller and director of finance, playing a pivotal role in financing and acquisition activities.

Peter Diamandis is joining the Advisory Board of PeroNova, a climate tech company, to develop new uses for this cost-effective and versatile material.

Green Lantern Solar announced the promotion of Jon Sutton to Director of Engineering. Sutton, formerly Green Lantern Solar’s Construction Manager, possesses a wealth of experience in successfully leading complex engineering projects, making him a vital asset to the company’s ongoing success. In his new role, Sutton will lead Green Lantern Solar’s engineering division, ensuring the highest standards of quality and efficiency across all projects.

FTC Solar’s Board of Directors appointed Yann Brandt, a longtime solar executive, as the company’s new president and chief executive officer and a member of the Board, effective August 19, 2024. He joins the company from FlexGen, a leading battery energy storage services and software company, where he most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer since November 2022 and previously as Chief Financial Officer since February 2021. Prior to FlexGen, Brandt served as CEO of Quick Mount PV, a manufacturer of solar racking for residential solar, where he led the company’s reorganization and subsequent strong growth.

Perch Energy, a clean energy technology platform and leading provider of community solar services, appointed Russ Main as its new chief financial officer (CFO) and Jeffrey Battles as senior vice president (SVP) of Technology.

National Renewable Solutions (NRS), a U.S.-based renewable energy company, announced four leadership promotions to charge the company’s growth plans: Lindsey Ransom is now chief commercial officer and will oversee offtake origination strategy, commercial markets and regulatory affairs, policy, ESG and communications functions.  Mike Peck is chief operating officer after having been senior VP operations. In his new role, he will draw upon his 16 years of renewable energy industry experience to lead NRS in strategically improving its operations capabilities. Vineet Parkhe is chief technology officer. He and his team will continue to collaborate across the organization, and drive technical rigor, efficiency and innovation across all aspects of NRS’ business. Ben Klassen is the new chief legal officer. After serving as general counsel since February 2022 he will now focus on risk management and direction of legal strategy as NRS continues to grow its portfolio of renewable energy projects.

Bracewell LLP announced that renewable energy and project development attorney Hans P. Dyke has rejoined the firm’s Washington, DC office as partner in the energy practice. Dyke, a Bracewell partner from 2017 to 2021, returns to the firm after serving as general counsel of Sol Systems, LLC since he left Bracewell in 2021.

Flow Aluminum, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based startup innovating the energy industry with an aluminum-CO2 battery alternative to lithium-ion, announced the addition of Dr. Olaf Conrad as chief technology officer. In this executive role, Dr. Conrad will establish a technology roadmap for Flow Aluminum and lead its technical team in commercializing the product.

A panel discussion on community solar at the RE+ Mid-Atlantic solar and energy storage conference in Philadelphia made the point that developers many have to embrace opportunities close to the intended customer, even in difficult terrain.

While state regulators design programs to encourage solar development on rooftops and brownfields of urban New Jersey, developers often prefer to build projects on undeveloped greenfield sites. Leslie Elder, vice president of policy and public affairs at Summit Ridge Energy, a Virginia-based solar developer, said that companies don’t always agree with state priorities, but that’s where the project opportunities are.

New Jersey’s Solar Act of 2012 includes provisions for streamlining and permitting and providing financial incentives for developers to construct utility-scale solar projects “located on a brownfield, on an area of historic fill or on a properly closed sanitary landfill facility.” The idea was to turn urban lots, commercial flat roofs and fallow industrial areas into productive sites for clean energy.

Greenfield sites, such as unused agricultural land or other undeveloped properties, generally are easier to deploy solar on and have required less specialized site preparation procedures than brownfields. However, the New Jersey BPU restricts grid-connected projects of 5 MW or larger on many categories of greenfield-type land. Waivers may be applied for but are often rejected.

“There is a real opposition from the state [New Jersey] for a wide variety of reasons to greenfield development, mostly because of population size and past sparring,” Elder said, adding that New Jersey’s community solar policy focus is on urban development and low-income beneficiaries.

Elder contrasted New Jersey’s approach to community solar with Maryland, which defined “buckets” for different types of projects. For example, there was a greenfield bucket; a brownfield bucket, landfills and “cleanfields” (landfills with no toxicity); and a low- and moderate-income bucket. These sorts of definitions for community solar opportunities enabled developers to bid on projects based on their experience, specialization and preferences.

State siting requirements are just one aspect of the community solar puzzle. More intractable, perhaps, are the labyrinthine subscription and billing policies needed to attract customers and have them see real economic benefits. And, as always, developers committing to building community solar projects need to see the financial rewards for doing so.

Eric Wallace, an attorney at the Virginia-based firm of GreeneHurlocker, PLC, with a focus on energy law and energy regulation, said successful community solar program design hangs on the statutes that set them up on a state-by-state basis.

“There are a lot of different policy tools out there, but finding the right solutions for each state is a challenge,” Wallace said. “In each of these markets there are interconnection proceedings and discussions happening. That’s definitely a key component of community solar in the Mid-Atlantic.”

Justin Felt, director of policy analysis and development at Exelon, which is parent to six utilities, said it would be beneficial to incorporate the utility perspective at the association level rather than making that the opposition view.

“Getting sort of that collaboration I think would be better,” Felt said, echoing comments made by SEIA CEO Abigail Ross Hopper earlier that morning. “Let’s also be honest, politics – purple state versus blue state – is going to be a big impact on this. If you’re in a red state, maybe it’s a little bit different. So, we have to follow our jurisdictions in a lot of ways. You have to appreciate that the broader political and policy landscape is going to be a prime driver as well.”

If state policies are important for developing grid storage capacity, as was discussed in an earlier RE+ panel, they are likely even more so for community solar, which is arguably more complicated a proposition.

Origis Energy hired capital markets leader Deborah Kross. Most recently at Wells Fargo as managing director, portfolio manager for power, utilities and renewables, Deborah brings two decades of project finance leadership in North America to her new position at Origis as the senior vice president of Capital Markets.

Paul Subzak was hired as vice president of engineering at Affordable Wire Management.

EVPassport announced Liz Howard has been appointed chief financial officer; John Gilbrook has been named senior vice president, North American sales; and Brian McKinnon has joined as vice president of channel partnerships and alliances.

Additional job moves provided by EnergeiaWorks:

• Michael Schutz is starting a new position as Market Sector Leader, Renewable Energy & Power Delivery at Bowman Consulting.
• Evan Wilson announces the newest addition to his CanREA Alberta team – Radha Rajagopalan.

North America’s leading renewable energy search firm

Swift Current Energy announced that Brian Dee has joined the company as chief financial officer (CFO). Brian, a seasoned energy executive, joins Swift Current as the company prepares to own and operate more than 1 GW of renewable energy projects by the end of this year and invest in its market-leading, multi-technology development pipeline. Most recently, Brian served as CFO of Atlantic Power & Utilities, an independent power producer with operations across North America. His nearly two-decade track record at the company includes $6 billion in capital raises and $4 billion in acquisitions and divestitures.

Lightsource bp appointed Emilie Wangerman as our chief operating officer (COO) of the United States and member of our executive team, effective immediately. Wangerman will lead the growth and development of our ambitious U.S. portfolio, strengthening our market position as a leader in the region. She has been an integral part of Lightsource bp since joining in late 2017 to significantly accelerate expansion into the U.S. market. During six years under Emilie’s leadership, the business development team executed more than 4GW of power contracts with a wide range of power purchasers that include universities, utilities and well-known brands such as McDonald’s, eBay, Verizon, and Amazon. Over the last seven months, Emilie has been acting as interim COO of the U.S.

Additional job moves provided by EnergeiaWorks:

• Ryan Morphett has joined WTS Energy as their newest Director of the U.S. business

North America’s leading renewable energy search firm

SolarEdge Technologies, a provider of inverters, module level power electronics, battery energy storage, and other related technologies, announced it has been selected by Rutgers University to support research of dual-use agrivoltaics.

Agrivoltaics is the practice of installing solar arrays on function farmland. The arrays are typically raised higher than a traditional array, leaving space for crops to grow below.

Administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Rutgers will assist the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program. The program is a three-year study of 200 MW of agrivoltaic installations.

“The aim of our research is to develop knowledge that will help to establish practices that can help improve both the sustainability and viability of farms through safe and regulated adoption of solar energy,” said Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, director of resource and economic development, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

(Read “Has the US caught up with European agrivoltaic deployment?”)

The program includes three project sites, including a different panel mounting method to understand effects on cost, agricultural production, and electricity generation.

• Rutgers Animal Farm in New Brunswick has vertically mounted bifacial panels and will be used for the production of forage crops and beef cattle grazing (170 kWDC installed and grid-connected)

• Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown has single-axis trackers and will be used for hay production (94.5 kWDC installed and 82.4 kWDC grid-connected)

• Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Bridgeton has single axis trackers with both single-wide and double-wide rows of panels and will be used for the production of vegetable and staple crops (255 kWDC installed and 48.6 kWDC grid-connected)

Each site will use SolarEdge’s module level power electronics (MLPE) to collect and analyze production data.

“Agrivoltaics is a perfect example of a real ‘win-win’,” said Bertrand Vandewiele, general manager, SolarEdge North America. “This practice allows for expanded solar development to address climate change, without the land-use challenges often associated with ground mounted solar developments. It can also provide benefits for farmers, allowing a stable revenue stream and protection against climate hazards.”

Vandewiele shared that in the U.S., there are already more than 500 active agrivoltaics sites, adding a total of 9 GW of solar capacity to the grid. He said these numbers are likely to grow as interest in agrivoltaics has been greatly expanding, as indicated by the increase in support and funding for the sector. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s funding for agrivoltaics more than tripled from 2021 to 2022.

NJBPU, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the State Agricultural Development Committee, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program are participating in the pilot. 

(Read about a vertical solar study at Rutgers in “New Jersey farm studies agrivoltaics with vertically mounted solar“)

Research areas for the pilot program will include:

• Impact on yield and quality of vegetables, nursery crops, sod, cranberries, blueberries and grapes

• Impact on pastures and animals (sheep, cows, horses) grazing underneath solar panels

• Opportunities for Controlled Environment Agriculture (greenhouses and high tunnels), including the use of supplemental lighting powered by photovoltaics

• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) based-Life cycle assessment for conventional field production versus crops grown under agrivoltaic systems, including the impact on water consumption and renewable energy generation

• Optimal design of agrivoltaic systems for NJ farms (pole placement and height, panel type and efficiency, panel tilt angle, tracking systems, etc.)

• Economic opportunities and challenges for agrivoltaics in NJ

Read more global pv magazine coverage of agrivoltaics.

Princeton NuEnergy (PNE), a New Jersey-based specialist in lithium-ion battery direct recycling, announced the close a Series A funding round with a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation.

Founded out of Princeton University in 2019, PNE developed a patented direct recycling technology for lithium-ion batteries. The low-temperature plasma-assisted separation process, trademarked as LPAS, produces battery-grade cathode and anode materials suitable for direct reintroduction into cell manufacturing. The company reports that this recycling is done at half the cost and is 70% less energy intensive.

PNE is now commercializing its lithium-ion battery recycling process that the company reports recovers up to 95% of materials found in all lithium-ion battery chemistries.

Recovering lithium and other critical battery materials is important as the U.S. ramps up electric vehicle produciton. While the U.S. is making strides toward manufacturing batteries, it is behind in the race for raw materials as China reportedly holds the majority of the world’s lithium refining capacity.

To advance lithium battery recycling, PNE has received over $55 million in grants, strategic and venture funding including investments from Honda Motor Co. Ltd., LKQ Corporation, Samsung Venture, Shell Venture, Traxys Group, Wistron Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Investor demand for this 50% oversubscribed round brought PNE’s Series A total to $30 million. Samsung Venture and Helium-3 join the round’s previous investors. The funds will support construction of PNE’s first standalone, full-scale direct battery recycling advanced manufacturing facility.

“The incredible interest in our Series A round, capped off by a strategic investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Helium-3 Ventures, speaks to the importance of supporting a circular economy for lithium battery manufacturing here in the U.S.,” said Dr. Chao Yan, PNE’s co-founder and CEO. “This funding enables us to implement and demonstrate our capabilities at commercial scale, helping America meet the growing demand for high-performance batteries while also creating high-quality clean energy jobs.”

PNE was named to Time Magazine’s “America’s Top Greentech Companies 2024”

Rutgers University’s 170 kW agrivoltaic project on its farm on the Cook campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey features a vertical solar installation designed by California-based Sunstall.

The farm operates as a production farm, research facility and teaching operation in support of the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station related activities. At the farm, students, faculty and staff care for a variety of animals, including sheep, goats and cattle.

Agrivoltaics refers to the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy generation, and the Rutgers farm is an example of such dual use, where a forage crop will be planted and beef cattle will graze between rows of solar modules. The design includes animal shelters that provide a shade area, animal drinking facilities, and a handling chute for safely managing large animals. Rutgers reports that the objective is to study the impacts of the agrivoltaic system on forage production and animal grazing, including any behavioral changes the animals may exhibit when grazing among the panels.

Results from the project will contribute to the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station received $2 million from the state for building research and demonstration agrivoltaic systems on its Research Farms.

Sunstall chose New Jersey-based developer and EPC contractor Advanced Solar Products as the installer. The vertical racking system from Sunzaun will consist of 18 rows of 21 solar modules, mounted in rows running north to south, enabling the system to receive sunlight from east and west.

The Sunzaun vertical racking system will hold bifacial solar modules that produce energy from both sides of the vertically oriented array.

The project will use ZnShine 450 W bifacial solar modules with a bifaciality rating of 70%. The system is designed to mount the modules using holes in the module frames, enabling them to be attached to two piles without the need for a heavy racking system.

This is not the first Sunzaun vertical agrivoltaic system in the U.S. Another example can be found in a vineyard in Somerset, California, where Sunstall installed 43 450 W modules on Sunzaun vertical solar arrays.

Agrivoltaics have been found to have other benefits as well, such as reducing water evaporation from the soil. A research group led by the University of Liège in Belgium studied this and verified that the vertical PV system could reduce water demand for the irrigated main crops. In addition, agrivoltaics can help meet the U.S. clean energy goals. Research by Oregon State University found that solar and agricultural co-location could provide 20% of the total electricity generation in the United States. Wide-scale installation of agrivoltaics could lead to an annual reduction of 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions while “minimally” impacting crop yield, the researchers said.

More colleges and universities are adopting solar on their campuses, recognizing that solar installations can alleviate budget pressure, help schools meet clean energy goals and provide real-world learning opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders.

Princeton University in New Jersey is planning for a 2.2 MW portfolio of four solar projects to be installed on rooftop and canopy-mounted structures

New York-based Brightcore Energy will be installing 4,039 solar modules beginning in the summer of 2024.

Princeton University’s Sustainability Action Plan commits the school to achieving net zero carbon neutrality b 2046 and states that during the planning of future campus projects, campus leaders should ask themselves “Will today’s decision facilitate a movement towards the objective of nationwide decarbonization?”

The school also has a policy of avoiding purchase of offsets and states that school leaders should keep in mind that “paying others so that we can continue to pollute is not an effective global solution to climate change.”

“The school has shown great leadership with its ambitious and detailed sustainability plans, and we are excited to play a role in that,” said Mike Richter, president of Brightcore.

Further north, Northeastern University in Boston announced the recent completion of a 158 kWp rooftop solar system on its library.

Installed by Massachusetts-based Ameresco, the solar installation is expected to offset 146 metric tons of carbon (CO2) emissions.

Northeastern was one of the first universities in the nation to prioritize sustainability and in 2007 became a founding member of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, now the Climate Leadership Network and the University Climate Change Coaltion (UC3) led by Second Nature.

Northeastern reports that between 2005 and 2020, greenhouse gas emissions per square foot of building space on the Boston campus declined by 42%. The school attributes this success, in part, to fuel switching, energy conservation measures, such as lighting retrofits, and sustainable building design. Northeastern considers the installation on the Snell Library being a highly visible and important milestone.

“Northeastern has made significant progress reducing the carbon intensity of our buildings,” said Leah Bamberger, executive director of Northeastern’s Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub. “This project comes at an important time as we are developing plans to fully decarbonize our buildings and eliminate harmful emissions.”

Arcadia, a company that builds utility data technology to serve consumers in the community solar market, released its inaugural report on the community solar sector in 2023. The State of Community Solar report highlights the anticipated growth in an industry designed to serve all.

Community solar offers access to clean solar energy to the nearly two-thirds of Americans who do not have access to residential solar, whether it is because the don’t own their home, their roof is not positioned for solar or they cannot afford the up-front cost.

Challenges to its growth include high interest rates, increased local opposition to projects, interconnection delays, workforce issues, unfriendly regulatory environments and ongoing tariff issues between the United States and its trading partners, according to the report.

Despite these challenges, a Wood Mackenzie report expected community solar to exceed 6 GW by the end of 2023, estimating that existing community solar projects in the U.S. generate enough electricity to power 918,000 homes. The WoodMac report forecasts 118% growth over the next five years, with the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) setting a target of 30 GW by 2030, which Arcadia said is an important baseline for the growth of community solar in the years ahead.

In addition to providing clean energy to ratepayers, the growth in community solar is spurring investment in American-made products. The report points to the recent Nexamp order of 1.5 GW of Heliene solar modules to support Nexamp’s growth in the community solar sector.

Federal programs 

In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate bill in U.S. history, giving a boost to community (and other forms of solar) through federal tax policy. Arcadia expects to see the IRA drive more innovative business models, and cites as an example the recent nationwide partnership between Arcadia, Google, and EDP Renewables NA, a collaboration that prioritizes direct community investments. According to the Arcadia report, it will deliver utility bill savings to low- to medium-income households by connecting an estimated 25,000 households in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic with 500 MW of distributed solar energy.

At the federal level, community solar also got a boost through several programs including : National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP), Low-Income Clean Energy Connector, Community Power Accelerator, and the American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar.

• NCSP focuses on disadvantaged communities by providing resources, technical assistance, and peer networking opportunities to its partners to help overcome barriers to broadening community solar access.
• Low-Income Clean Energy Connector, established by the NCSP, intends to make community solar more widely available for those participating in government-run low-income support programs.
• The Community Power Accelerator helps smaller community solar projects get off the ground, especially in underserved communities, by providing the resources and network to support the equitable distribution of capital needed to develop these projects.
• American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar is a prize competition that recognizes community solar projects and programs that use best practices to increase equitable access to community solar.

State programs

The Arcadia report notes important activity at the state level, including New Mexico, which adopted its first program, Maryland and New Jersey made pilot programs permanent. Other states, including Minnesota, dropped geographic restrictions that hobbled their community solar programming. California is expected to adopt a program this year.

Jobs

With the growth in community solar comes job growth, and Arcadia notes that this clean energy option creates “sustainable, good-paying jobs that can provide economic boosts to towns that need it”. The report cites a study by the University of New Mexico that predicts that its new program will generate over 1,500 jobs, totaling $58 million in labor income and $206 million in total industry economic output. The community solar industry supports 16,785 jobs as of 2022, and this number is expected to increase

Arcadia was founded in 2014 on the belief that everyone deserves access to clean energy, and reports that it manages the nation’s largest community solar portfolio with more than 2 GW of solar under management.

After four years of very strong growth, Chaberton reports it controls 650+ MW of community solar sites in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, New Jersey and Italy.

Headquartered in Maryland, Chaberton Energy is a public benefit corporation focused on developing sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Its work ranges from site conception to full operations. The company launched in 2020 with community solar projects in the mid-Atlantic region but has since broadened its portfolio to include commercial and industrial installations. Due in part to favorable solar policies that continue to emerge in states across the country, Chaberton quickly expanded its market.

Community solar installations have grown overall from 85 MW cumulative in 2015 to 6.2 GW in 2023, according to Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the market is expected to grow 8% annually between 2024 and 2028.

“Chaberton will be busy this year offering valuable solar options for communities and for businesses that recognize the benefits of generating their own electricity, cutting costs and reducing their carbon footprint,” said Chaberton Energy CEO and founder Stefano Ratti.

Recent projects

A few of its recent projects include Friendship, Crestone, Greyrock and Fuji.

Friendship is made up of two community solar projects in West Friendship, Howard County, Maryland, which, combined generate 6.5 MW. They came online early 2023 and serve local community residents and small businesses, via the Community Solar Maryland program, and Loyola University Maryland, via the Aggregate Net Energy Metering program. Like all of Chaberton’s projects in the mid-Atlantic, they feature a pollinator habitat.

Crestone is a community solar project in Harrington, New Kent, Delaware, totaling 6.4 MW. This is the first project to participate in the newly revamped Delaware Community Solar program.

Fuji is two installations in one. Located in Franklin, NJ, it has a combined capacity of 5 MW. What is unique is this is a floating solar installation, which will be installed on the surface of an industrial pond. The installation will serve both industrial and community solar needs, as the first phase of the project involves installing a behind-the-meter system to meet on-site energy requirements of an aggregate material production site. The second phase of the project is a community solar installation with local residents as subscribers.

Greyrock, in Pittsville, Md is a 2 MW community solar project on a 34-acre parcel of land, which will serve residents and businesses within the Delmarva service area. Its pollinator habitat was designed following recommendations set forth in the Maryland Pollinator Protection Plan. The project is expected to be operational in the summer of 2024.

The pharmaceutical, chemical, and agricultural biotechnology company, Bayer, which is based in Germany, is putting its sustainability goals into practice with two large-scale solar installations in the U.S.

In Woodland, California, Bayer enlisted Enel North America as developer of the 2.7 MW solar and 1 MW / 2 MWh energy storage system at its vegetable research and development site. Enel is the owner and operator and 100% offtaker, having signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Bayer.

The Woodland solar installation occupies approximately 10 of the 210 acres of the company’s property. The ground-mount system is expected to provide 70% of the site’s electrical energy demand, and avoid approximately 44,732 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the project’s lifetime. In addition, the battery bank will store excess energy for use when the system is not generating power, such as nighttime or in the event of a power outage.

Bayer also plans to have eight electric vehicle chargers installed for employee use later this year. And between the rows of solar panels, flowering cover crops, such as wildflowers, will be planted for pollinator habitat, soil remediation and aesthetic purposes.

“With this new installation, the Woodland site is the most onsite solar-powered operation within Bayer globally,” says Enrique Wehlen, head of sustainability, safety, health & environments (SSHE) North America at Bayer.

The second recently completed project is at Bayer’s main U.S. offices in Whippany, New Jersey. For this project Bayer partnered with DSD Renewables to complete a 1.7 MW ground mount solar installation that is expected to offset approximately 25% of the Whippany site’s total annual usage. The tracker-based installation is comprised of 3,600 modules.

The installation was designed to preserve the surrounding landscape, which involved shifting a fence line, limiting tree removal, adding river rock to match the site’s aesthetic, and coordinating closely with the team at Bayer to ensure its on-site bee colony at Whippany, which is used for tree pollination, was not disrupted.

“This installation is the perfect example of our approach to solar development, engineering, construction, and financing,” says Dan O’Brien, vice president of Commercial Origination at DSD.

Both projects align with Bayer’s sustainability commitments to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 and to achieve net-zero waste across its entire value chain by 2050. A key strategy is to purchase 100% sustainable renewable electricity by 2030. Bayer is embracing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“These solar installations are a strong signal to our employees, customers and communities where we live and operate of our commitment to GHG emission reduction,” says Delf Bintakies, global head of sustainability, safety, health & environments (SSHE) at Bayer. “Bayer sets specific criteria for its own procurement of green energy. This includes the proximity of energy production facilities to Bayer sites, the use of new sources of generation and a focus on wind and solar power.”

Dimension Renewable Energy, a community solar developer and operator, announced a multi-year pledge to invest $5 million in U.S. solar workforce development. The funds will support the training of 1,500 solar professionals.

The program will build upon Dimension’s existing work partnering with local non-profits, high schools, community colleges, and adult education centers to deliver in-classroom solar installation instruction, hands-on basic solar construction skills, and OSHA safety certification.

A report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) said about two-thirds of U.S. solar jobs are at installation and project development firms. The industry reached 263,883 solar workers in 2022, 33,400 of which are manufacturing jobs.

IREC said that 44% of solar industry employers reported in a survey that it was “very difficult” to find qualified applicants for solar in 2022. Workforce development programs are one pathway to ensuring a steady supply of skilled labor.

“As a community solar developer, ‘community’ is core to who we are,” said Bryan Bentrott, vice president, origination, Dimension. “We believe in making clean energy more accessible to everyone, and are committed to workforce development that helps localize the economic benefits of our projects.”

Dimension installs its projects via a community solar model, which typically allows customers to subscribe to a portion of a solar facility’s generation in exchange for credits on their utility bill. The Department of Energy said customers can typically expect to see 10% to 20% savings on their bill from enrolling in community solar.

“By empowering residents to participate directly in community solar, here in New Jersey, and more broadly at all of our sites across the country, Dimension is creating opportunities for upward employment mobility in the communities we serve,” said Bentrott.

To meet workforce and apprenticeship requirements set out by the Investment Tax Credit, developers must ensure that 15% of the labor performed in a project is by qualified apprentices. If the labor threshold is met, the base 6% Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy projects is raised to 30%.

IREC said the solar industry expects total U.S. installations will multiply fivefold in the next 10 years, from 141 GW in 2022 to over 700 GW in 2033. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) predicts the total number of solar jobs could more than double, reaching 538,000 by 2032.

Dimension recently celebrated the installation of 14 MW of community solar installations in New Jersey. The projects will supply local clean energy to more than 2,500 households in Public Service Energy and Gas (PSEG) territory, including more than 1,300 low- and moderate-income subscribers. Dimension expects the facilities to generate more than $550,000 in annual energy savings for subscribers, leading to an average savings of $220 per year.

Dimension is a developer, owner, and operator of over 250 MW of solar, investing over $400 million in its solar assets. The company stated plans to invest an additional $2.5 billion over the next five years, with 2.2 GW of assets in development.

The completion of community solar installations on two warehouse rooftops is being celebrated in New Jersey by local community leaders including Monroe Township Mayor Stephen Dalina and  South Brunswick Mayor Charles Carley, along with representatives from Solar Landscape.

The installations, which are installed, owned and operated by Solar Landscape, are on Heitman Capital Management warehouse rooftops in Monroe Township and South Brunswick.

With 11,000 Znshine modules mounted on PanelClaw racks, the combined rooftop projects provide 8.8 MWdc of clean, discounted solar energy to more than 1,400 nearby homes. The projects also promote clean energy equity, as more than half of those homes will be low- or moderate-income households.

The spread of commercial rooftop community solar has contributed to New Jersey-based Solar Landscape’s growth, which the company reports has tripled over the last two years. The company currently employs over 150 people and has more than 250 MW of solar projects built, and over 150 MW operating and under construction.

Solar Landscape recently announced that Public Storage, owner of self-storage facilities across the U.S., signed a contract to install solar on more than 130 of its rooftops in Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois. The solar generated on the self-storage rooftops, enough to power 10,000 homes, will be available to local residents on a subscription basis. Subscribers will receive discounted electricity, and Solar Landscape reports that the clean energy will offer additional savings for many LMI households.

Due to the company’s growth, it moved into a new 10,000-square foot office space in the spring of 2023, and recently announced plans to hire over 100 new employees in 2024. The new jobs will span all functions, including engineering, business development, finance, legal, community engagement, and project management. Job candidates interested in future positions at Solar Landscape can click here.

The expansion is expected to double its operations next year, with a goal of building 100 MW of commercial rooftop solar and serving 20,000 new community solar subscribers – over half of which will be lower-income households.

Specialty glass manufacturer Astraglass announced it has installed a 203.3 kW rooftop solar installation on its Vineland, New Jersey factory rooftop. Astraglass produced scientific and laboratory glassware, precision glass and glass to metal components for OEM applications.

The 484-module system is expected to generate about 40% of the facility’s energy consumption.

The project takes advantage of New Jersey’s Successor Solar Incentive Program (SuSI), which makes Astraglass qualitied to receive $100 per MWh of energy produced by the system for the next 15 years. The system is expected to produce 266 MWh in its first year of operations.

”Manufacturing glass products requires a significant amount of electric consumption on site and solar power is one of the only levers to truly offset that consumption while simultaneously creating a new revenue source for the business,” said Kyle Shroufe, co-founder of Opal Energy Group. “Combined with tax credits and bonus depreciation, Astraglass is forecast to achieve a ROI in just three years.”

Opal Energy installed the project, which made use of bifacial solar modules and SolarEdge power optimizers. SolarEdge’s power optimizers enable each solar module connected in a string to the inverter to operate independently. This means that if one module in the string is shaded and produces less power, other modules on the string will not be negatively impacted. Power optimizers also allow for performance monitoring of each individual module, helping to streamline operations and maintenance.

Opal Energy secured funding for the project from Sunstone Credit, which specializes in helping small-to-medium sized companies finance solar installations.

”Our foremost objective is to make quality investments that ultimately help businesses access the financial and environmental benefits of solar,” says Sunstone Credit co-founder Duncan Hinkle. “Our loans can have terms up to 20 years, and so we put a lot of thought into evaluating the partners and technology we work with.”

Sunstone Credit said the SolarEdge components used in the project helped ensure a reliable investment with Opal Energy.

“The advanced features in this installation give us the confidence that our investment, and that of our customer, is in safe hands,” said Hinkle.

Panasonic introduces new generation home battery  The EverVolt home battery supports both DC and AC coupling for new and existing solar arrays.

SEG Solar signs agreement for Horad PV manufacturing equipment for Texas plant  SEG Solar is setting up a TOPCon solar module manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas and will use state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment from Suzhou Horad New Energy Equipment.

Better solar projections mean better models and higher project valuations  Denowatts helps solar asset owners know what they’re ‘supposed’ to be generating, via their Deno Simulator, a self-powered digital weather station, and the corresponding Digital Twin software package.

Climate change and solar project flood risk  A well-balanced project design is one that maximizes use of the buildable space for a parcel of land while avoiding costly impacts from flood damage during the operational period.

People on the move: EDP Renewables, Altus Power, and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Rutgers University to add 15 MW of solar carports  As part of its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the university will add 16 solar carport installations by DSD Renewables at its four main campuses and off campus buildings.

First Solar, QCells and Solarge qualify for 2023 sustainably produced modules label  By specifying EPEAT panels, the recognitions show production of modules adheres to sustainably made, low-carbon products for developers and buyers.

Top risks for solar assets: Financial modeling  Production modeling, asset availability, capital costs, tariff risks, and degradation uncertainty are reviewed in a report from kWh Analytics.

Rutgers University, the largest public university system in New Jersey, has committed to greening its campuses with the addition of close to 15 MW of solar carport canopy arrays this year.

As part of its Climate Action Plan from 2021, in which the university has a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the 6,000-acre plus university system will add 16 solar carport installations by DSD Renewables at its four main campuses and off campus buildings as well.

The carports represent the first initiative of Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway since the 2021 Climate Action Plan was announced, with the solar installations to generate 18 GWh of clean power each year.  The car canopy systems are to be deployed at the following locations:

The carport solar projects are being financed through a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) at no upfront cost to the university. DSD will build, own and operate the solar canopies across campuses upon completion, and provide operations and maintenance services. The Rutgers Division of Institutional Planning and Operations (IP&O) will be the direct offtake counterparty for the clean power produced at a predetermined, discounted rate compared to the local utility.

“It’s an unconventional project in that we are not spending university funds, but accruing significant benefits,” said Frank Wong, assistant vice president, university planning and development at Rutgers IP&O. “The project will significantly reduce our energy costs over time and be a visible sign of our ongoing sustainability efforts.”

Construction is currently underway across several of the university’s parking lots, and the solar carports are expected to be complete by the end of the year. Once complete, the carports will create shaded parking lot coverage, reducing urban heat island effects of surface parking lots. The carports will also provide cover from snowfall and precipitation during winter months.

“Having the opportunity to work with such a well-known and highly regarded university, such as Rutgers, is an honor,” says Kevin Brooks, senior director, origination, DSD Renewables. “This is an exciting portfolio of projects that will provide Rutgers students across five campuses with access to renewable energy, and will ultimately bring the university closer to its sustainability goals while saving money on electricity.”

Climate Action Plan

With an enrollment of 67,620 students, Rutgers first installed solar canopies onto its 33-acre Livington, N.J. campus in 2013.  Currently its Livingston campus generates 1.4 MW of solar from 7,993 solar panels and 8 MW of solar canopies composed of about 33,000 solar panels.

A 2021 assessment of campus solar resources suggested that 26 MW of solar could be built on parking lots and 16 MW on building rooftops.

The university’s CAP report highlights $770 million worth of estimated capital cost investments into on-campus solar generation and off-campus power purchase agreements for solar or wind power, reducing carbon emissions by 116,000 tons and generating $40 million in annual energy savings from lowering its reliance on the local grid.

Rutgers’ clean energy savings includes an $80 per MWh state subsidy under the New Jersey Transition Renewable Energy Credit program, the Garden State’s renewable energy credit (REC) program.

Besides PPA agreements, Rutgers is also reviewing cooperative and community solar developments for procuring solar, in which the university could become a partial owner of the system alongside community members, it said in the report.

Other direct and grid emissions solutions the university is pursuing include:

• Retrofitting and energy efficient buildings, decommission inefficient buildings and adopt new construction and energy standards.
• Install metering, monitoring and energy control systems.
• Electric vehicle (EV) fleet systems and charging
• Decarbonize heating systems by phasing out natural gas heating and cogeneration

Rutgers intends to be fully divested from fossil fuel energy resources by 2031, according to its CAP report.

In March 2020, Rutgers became the 22^nd member institution of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3), a coalition of more than two dozen U.S. private and public universities committed to reducing global emissions, including through clean energy and energy efficiency development. UC3 is monitored and administered by Second Nature, a nonprofit group that tracks climate action plans at higher education institutions.

A floating solar array is actively providing critical resource support in Short Hills, New Jersey. The 8.9 MW array, now the largest active floating PV facility in North America, will provide approximately 95% of the electricity needs for the Canoe Brook water treatment plant.

The floating PV array is mounted on plastic floats that are moored to the reservoir’s floor. Floating PV is typically left for human-made bodies of water, preventing the risk of tides or saltwater degrading the equipment.

The array spans 17 acres of water surface and is comprised of 16,510 panels. water treatment plant serves over 84,000 homes and businesses in the area. The array cost $7.2 million to build, said Rettew, a Pennsylvania-based firm that constructed the project.

Researchers from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and State University of Ponta Grossa in Brazil studied the beneficial effects of mounting PV on water, which cools the array, offering improved operational efficiency. The scientists compared the efficiency of the floating solar module with ground-mounted systems, as modeled by Sandia National Laboratories. The results show that a maximum of 3% efficiency gain is possible, compared to the ground-mounted Sandia model.

“It takes a lot of energy to pump that water,” said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water. “When we can use a cleaner, greener, more efficient energy source, we want to seize that opportunity.”

The project is owned and operated by NJR Clean Energy Ventures. Since 2009, the company has invested over $1 billion in commercial and residential solar projects. As one of the largest solar owner-operators in the state, the company maintains 65 commercial solar assets across four states and a portfolio of more than 440 MW of installed capacity. The Canoe Brook marks the second floating PV project in the company’s portfolio, adding to the 4.4 MW array activated in 2020 in Sayreville, New Jersey.

“Floating solar technology creates new opportunities for underutilized bodies of water, allowing space that would otherwise sit vacant to enable large-scale renewable energy generation, which helps to bring the benefits of clean energy to even more customers,” said Robert Pohlman, vice president, NJR Clean Energy Ventures.

Floating photovoltaics, sometimes referred to as “floatovolataics,” are expected to establish a sizeable new global market by 2026, said Global Industry Analysts (GIA), which has projected a 4.8 GW deployment by that year.

Generally, 1 MW of FPV plant covers water bodies of about 17 acres to 25 acres and can generate electricity of 1500 MWh, said GIA.

The market is currently pegged at about 1.6 GW globally, and GIA predicts it will move at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.7% by 2026, reaching 4.8 GW. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the largest market share at around 60%, with China the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 59.4%. Floating PV’s cost is much higher than that of stationary solar panels, the key hinderance in its growth, said GIA.

GIA said the U.S. has over 24,000 human made water bodies that are anticipated to be suitable for floating PV development.

ESA completes first phase of 3.6 MW cannabis grower’s solar farm ESA Solar this week announced completion of a first 1.2 MW phase of a 3.6 MW ground-mounted solar project for a cannabis grower utilizing indoor growing facilities. Cannabis production represents more than 1% U.S. electricity demand, presenting a big opportunity for renewable energy adoption.

New Jersey’s agrivoltaic program moving forward, fighting interconnection  With a 200 MW solar pilot program and three Rutgers-based R&D initiatives, New Jersey is gearing up to unveil an agrivoltaic blueprint for public deliberation this summer.

New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has authorized the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program. This 200 MWdc agrivoltaic pilot program will run over a span of three years and will be jointly executed by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and Rutgers University’s Agrivoltaics Program (RAP).

While the governor granted approval to the program in 2021, it is still in the early stages of development. A detailed straw proposal is slated for release in summer 2023, marking the beginning of a “robust public engagement process.”

RAP disclosed details about its R&D agrivoltaic systems under development at three New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Farms this spring. These facilities include the Rutgers Animal Farm in New Brunswick, the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) facility in Bridgeton, and the Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown.

The Animal Farm facility will feature 170 kWdc vertical bifacial solar panels. The construction plans include ZnShine 450 solar modules featuring a backside bifaciality rating of 70%. The facility has not yet started construction, but is expected to be completed by July of this summer.

At the southern end of the solar plant will be animal shelter and water facilities, as well as handling infrastructure. The researchers will be testing the performance of forage crops for beef cows and also tracking their movement in and around the rows of vertical bifacial panels.

The RAREC facility, the size of which could vary between 40 kWac and 211 kWac depending on interconnection availability, is undergoing a full 255 kWdc system installation. Crop experiments will be conducted regardless of whether the panels are fully connected.

David R. Specca, head of Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program Lead, told pv magazine USA:

We will be researching the impact of single-wide and double-wide single axis trackers along with the necessary control blocks to provide the statistical analysis need for our trials at RAREC. The crops we are planning to grow at RAREC for the first three years will be spinach, broccoli, and lettuce in the spring season; tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the summer/fall season; and cover crops during the winter season. We will also use a portion of the trial area for soybeans.

The Snyder Farm, a single axis tracker facility, has 94.5 kWdc of modules but is restricted to 82.4 kWdc due to restrictions on the size of the existing transformer. The state board’s ruling limits the solar facility to delivering 104,424 kWh per year to three off-take customers. The Snyder solar facility will be used for hay production for its first three years.  

In the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program, each project is capped at 10 MWdc. The pilot program is expected to last three years, offering a total capacity of 200 MW, with an option for a five-year extension and a total capacity of 300 MW. The NJBPU hopes to choose projects following a competitive process that includes both “price and non-price terms”, as well as a wide range of crops on unpreserved farmland.

Suntuity Renewables, a Holmdel, N.J.-based residential solar installer, announced plans to go public this week through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Beard Energy Transition Acquisition Corp., a $249 million SPAC platform operated by Gregory A. Beard, a former investment principal from Apollo Global Management, a global private equity firm.

“Since 2017, Suntuity’s mission has been to support the transition to a 100% clean and renewable energy future by simplifying residential solar power,” said Dan Javan, president and chief executive officer of Suntuity. “In taking this next step to become a publicly traded company, we intend to accelerate our growth, broaden our focus to include comprehensive home electrification solutions and services across the country, and establish ourselves as a significant industry participant in the renewable energy transformation.”

New Jersey-based Suntuity provides residential solar installation solutions in 25 U.S. states and has deployed 9,500 systems to date. Since 2017, the company has originated more than 200 MW of aggregate solar and storage systems, as well as third-party financing solutions.

Suntuity’s industry relationships with top-tier suppliers and financing partners have contributed to its 26.7% installation compounded annual growth rate for the past three years, as well as a $55 million backlog for more than 1,152 projects whose cycle time from deal acceptance to installation is 59 days.

The company has forecast growth of 79 MW of installations in 2022 increasing to 125 MW of 2023 solar installations across its 25-state market. Suntuity breaks down its top state markets primarily in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets, such as New Jersey (33%), Pennsylvania (22%), Connecticut (6%), Massachusetts (6%) and Maryland (6%).

Suntuity uses a mix of in-house and outsourced solutions and capabilities to deploy home solar, storage and EV charging solutions. Outside of its key states, Suntuity has an outsourced installation crew in additional states in Ohio, Illinois, Nevada, California and Texas, among other states capable of installing the company’s systems, with outsourced crew hubs in Utah, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and across the Northeast.

Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Suntuity Inc. and its shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker, “STY.” The business combination has been approved by the boards of directors of both Suntuity and Beard, and is expected to close in Q4 2023, subject to regulatory and stockholder approval.

Citigroup and Roth Capital Partners served as underwriter and capital markets advisor on the SPAC transaction, while Loeb & Loeb LLP is Suntuity’s legal advisor. Vinson & Elkins advised Beard.

Suntuity’s senior management are expected to continue to serve in their existing roles following the SPAC transaction. Current Suntuity employees are expected to retain a 40% ownership of the company at closing, assuming no redemptions by the SPAC’s public shareholders.

“When searching for a potential partner in this transaction, we sought to identify a high-growth business in the renewable energy space with a clear path to scalability and a public-ready management team; we believe Suntuity satisfies each of these criteria and much more,” said Beard.

Beard formed his energy transition SPAC platform in March 2021 with $250 million of capital commitments. Other members of the SPAC team held prior roles across the energy market, including Riverstone, Intervale Capital, Athlon Energy and Caelus Energy, both of which are historic oil and gas producers.

Institutional shareholders in Beard include the Alberta Investment Management Corp. (2.8%), Cantor Fitzgerald (4.6%), Sculptor Capital (4.7%), Adage Capital Partners (5.4%) and Saba Capital (7.7%).

PosiGen, a residential solar installer for low- and moderate-income families, has lined up a $250 million funding commitment from the direct lending infrastructure fund of Brookfield Asset Management.

The new funding commitment will provide expansion into additional markets nationwide for PosiGen, with a direct focus on serving households with high energy burdens who stand to benefit the most from transitioning to clean energy. PosiGen said the funding will be put to use in new states and communities prioritized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with an emphasis on Energy Communities and Low-Income Communities.

Based in Metaire, Louisiana, PosiGen works to close the clean energy affordability gap by making solar and energy efficiency available to all homeowners regardless of income. To date, the company has deployed solar and residential energy efficiency solutions to more than 25,000 customers in 10 U.S. states.

“Deploying clean energy is no longer enough,” said Thomas Neyhart, chief executive officer of PosiGen. “It’s clear that for us to meet our climate goals as a nation and create an inclusive economy, we need to focus our efforts on clean energy jobs and equitable access to these technologies that provide savings to those who need it most.”

In conjunction with the Brookfield credit facility, PosiGen is renewing its long-term credit structure with the Connecticut Green Bank.

“Our partnership with PosiGen began in 2015 when an RFP to support low- and moderate-income homeowners was launched, bringing PosiGen to Connecticut,” said Bryan Garcia, president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Green Bank. “The successful public-private partnership Solar for All helped increase solar deployment in LMI communities by 320% between 2015 and 2020. PosiGen continues to run campaigns in underserved communities helping those with the highest energy burden access solar and energy efficiency to reduce their costs.”

On April 4, the Internal Revenue Services issued guidance on energy communities, a section of the IRA that affords an additional 10% tax credit to the existing 30% solar investment tax credit for projects that are installed in designated energy communities. These include:

1. A brownfield site – defined as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant and certain mine-scarred land.
2. Statistical area – a metropolitan statistical area or non-metropolitan statistical area with a 0.17% or greater unemployment rate and 25% or greater tax revenues related to fossil fuel extraction, processing, transportation, or storage. These areas must also have an unemployment rate at or above the national average unemployment rate for the previous year.
3. Coal closure – a census tract (or a census tract directly adjoining such census tract) in which a coal mine has closed after December 31, 1999, or in which a coal-fired electric generating unit has been retired after December 31, 2009.

Formed in 2011, PosiGen has raised over $223 million in equity and debt to date from investors that include Magnetar Capital, Emerson Collective, Irradiant Partners, Activate Capital, The Builders Fund, SJF Ventures and the Kresge Foundation. The company has historically deployed solar and energy efficiency solutions such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) upgrades for black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

NEM 3.0 sparks the growing potential of virtual power plants  Exploring California’s energy transition with the help of alternative battery technologies.

Fold-out NASA satellite solar array undergoes successful test deployment The NASA/NOAA satellite, part of the GOES-R series, operated as-expected in its terrestrial test, making it one step closer to launch.

Solar-plus-storage microgrids to be deployed in four Bay Area cities The 3.1 MW solar and 6.2 MWh battery microgrid portfolio will provide energy resilience as part of the Resilient Municipal Critical Facilities program.

OCI Solar enhances solar training program in San Antonio  The solar company teamed up with St. Philip’s College, Project Quest, and the San Antonio Area Foundation to establish SolarJobs SA, an education and workforce initiative designed to help prepare students for careers in the renewable energy industry.

New Jersey warehouse owner deploys 556 kW rooftop solar using local workforce  The project’s development utilized locally trained solar installers from the STEP-UP group in Edison, N.J.

Machine learning method to identify residential PV adopters, reduce soft costs Researchers have defined a new machine learning-based methodology that reportedly reduces customer acquisition costs by about 15% or $0.07/Watt. It is based on an adapted version of the XGBoost algorithm and considers factors such as summer bills, household income, and homeowner’s age, among others.

With the state of New Jersey’s pilot community solar program not to be signed into law for another few months, momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act and energy justice initiatives has kept solar developments moving quickly to meet the Garden State’s goal of generating 100% clean energy by 2035.

Solar Landscape, a New Jersey-based solar developer, has completed work on a 556 kW warehouse rooftop solar array in Secaucus, N.J. for Principal Asset Management. The project’s development used locally trained workers from the STEP-UP (Solar Training and Education Partnership for Underserved Populations) group.

The STEP-UP program is run by career development firm Edison Job Corps with the participation of GAF Energy and Trinity Solar. To date, 29 New Jersey residents from low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities have been trained to become solar installers at a training center in Edison, N.J.

Solar energy provided by the installation on the Secaucus rooftop will provide enough clean energy for 90 nearby homes, saving those residents $20,000 per year on electricity bills and avoiding 478 tons of carbon emissions from conventional power resources.

“Financial inclusion and environmental impact are fundamental aspects of our commitment to sustainability,” said Jennifer McConkey, managing director of ESG, Principal Asset Management. “Together with Solar Landscape and its training partners, the program is introducing community members to entirely new careers in clean energy. In addition, this program addresses critical sustainability and social goals to be a good neighbor to our communities and a clean energy model for the rest of the country.”

Principal Asset Management is an affiliate of Principal Financial Group, a public Des Moines, Iowa-based asset manager with $501.5 billion of global holdings. The investment firm’s 2022 ESG report highlighted the firm’s use of renewable energy to power 58% of its U.S. facility operations, or a total of 41.65 GWh of clean energy. The firm is also installing rooftop solar in northern California at commercial office buildings with DSD Renewables.

The 556 kW Secaucus project is just the latest warehouse rooftop project Solar Landscape has constructed with offtake power made available to local residents, including LMI communities, under New Jersey’s pilot community solar program.

Last month pv magazine USA toured a 1.1 MW rooftop facility project of the developer in Avenel, N.J. After first powering its Edison, N.J. headquarters with 100% clean energy from a 500 kW rooftop solar array, building owner RPM Warehousing opted to utilize the remainder of three New Jersey warehouse rooftops to provide 4.3 MW of solar energy to some 700 local households in Perth Amboy and Edison, N.J.

Solar Landscape installer John Bruno pointed out the rooftop arrays use of U.S.-made QCells solar modules shipped from Georgia, in addition to SolarEdge inverters.

N.J. community solar

After an April 24 public stakeholder meeting for input on New Jersey’s community solar program, stakeholders have a May 15 deadline to send feedback to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for or against the program framework.  Governor Phil Murphy is expected to sign the program into law later this year.

According to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the state’s community solar pilot program saw seven projects come online in 2022, bringing the total installations to 21 community projects. The projects now provide bill credits to more than 5,500 New Jersey residents, saving more than $1 million on energy costs in the second year of the community solar program.

The state’s regulator anticipates another 100 community solar projects energizing in 2023, bringing over 150 MW of renewable energy to additional subscribers, half of which must be low- or moderate-income.

In 2022 the Garden State saw a near-record of 800 new commercial solar installations with 267 MW of generating capacity. The state hopped into eighth place (from 10th a year ago) among the Solar Energy Industries Association’s top-ranked U.S. solar states, with 4.41 GW of cumulative solar deployments.

“The record-setting pace at which New Jerseyans are installing solar panels shows that people across the Garden State increasingly recognize the benefits that come from using clean energy,” said Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the NJBPU.

Redaptive, a Denver-based energy efficiency service provider to commercial and industrial buildings, announced an additional equity commitment from Linse Capital, a growth equity firm invested in energy, mobility, logistics and real estate.  The add-on funding brings the  company’s cumulative Series E round to $250 million, and represents a significant step towards expanding Redaptive’s offerings and procuring new customers, the company said.

Redaptive installs energy efficiency systems that include smart meters, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades, and LED lighting systems at no cost to its customers. The company’s business model involves a monthly “energy-as-a-service” contract, which with no upfront cost to the customer provides more commercial clients to sign up for energy efficiency and sustainability solutions.

The company itemizes efficiency solutions, solar and energy storage at a portfolio of customer building sites into one contract. As the installer, the company is paid over time from energy savings from the customer account. The solar and storage assets take a power purchase agreement (PPA) structure with no upfront cost required from the customer, the company said.

“As one of the original investors in Redaptive, I have seen firsthand the company mature into one of the best players in the energy efficiency and sustainability space that provides a truly differentiated and strong value proposition to its customers,” said Michael Linse, founder and managing director, Linse Capital. “With such a large addressable market in the U.S. and globally, we are doubling down on our investment and look forward to helping Redaptive continue to scale its leading EaaS and Data Solutions platform.”

The Series E add-on investment follows the March 2023 initial Series E funding round when the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board joined Honeywell, CBRE, and other prior investors. Formed in 2013, Redaptive has raised over $360 million in growth capital to date from VC and strategic investors that include Engie New Ventures, CarVal and GXP Investments, the VC arm of Midwestern utility Great Plains Energy.

Solar expansion

Across the U.S., over 450,000 warehouses and distribution centers have 16.4 billion square feet of roof space, providing fertile ground for new commercial and industrial solar installations.  California alone is home to over 66,000 warehouses and distribution centers with 1.5 billion square feet of roof surface area, according to a recent report by Environment California and the Frontier Group.

With the average cost of commercial building electricity rising by 10% since 2021, customers of Redaptive begin by installing smart lighting, meters, sensors and other efficiency solutions, which initially provide 15% or more in annual energy savings. The company expects to achieve additional monthly energy savings for its customers with on-site solar generation.

The company said over 70% of its commercial clients’ building portfolios are suitable for solar projects.

Case study

With a net zero goal to offset its energy consumption with clean energy by 2050, commercial uniform, apparel and cleaning company Cintas signed up with Redaptive in March of 2023 to upgrade lighting fixtures across more than 100 of its 450 U.S. facilities, representing 6 million square feet of commercial space.

Lighting efficiency upgrades replacing 42,000 incandescent light bulbs with efficient lighting have driven 18.7 million kWh or $2.2 million of annual energy savings for Cintas, according to the customer.

Working with both Redaptive and the state of New Jersey, in April Cintas began installation of its first solar-powered system at a rental location in Piscataway, N.J. The project is expected to be installed and operational in the late spring of 2023. Once online and connected to the grid, the first solar panel system installation will allow Cintas to evaluate its year-round performance and compare the costs with traditional utility-based energy sources.

“The expansion of our program with Cintas to include solar installations alongside LED retrofit projects is a big step forward on Cintas’ path to a sustainable energy future,” said Arvin Vohra, chief executive officer of Redaptive.

In conjunction with Earth Day week, New York utility Con Edison filed its annual Sustainability Report, which provides an update on progress toward attaining a milestone of delivering 100% clean energy by 2040.

The report highlights the New York City metropolitan utility’s Clean Energy Businesses investment of $400 million in renewables projects in 2022. As of December 31, the utility operated a total of 3.07 GW of solar and wind capacity assets.

With targets for distributed solar, energy storage and zero emissions vehicles, Con Edison utilities continue to work with state and federal policy makers and stakeholders to remove barriers to distributed generation (DG) interconnection.

In mid-2020, Con Edison and its Orange & Rockland County, N.Y. utilities published a five-year Distributed System Implementation Plan that serves as an Integrated Planning, Information Sharing and Market Services resource for residents and various stakeholders. The Implementation Plan is designed to encourage the stakeholder engagement process, and Con Edison expects to update the 2020 document in report due out in June.

Solar + EV adoption

The shift to electric vehicles is accelerating in New York and will play a critical role in the state’s integrated plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Con Edison’s PowerReady incentive program is among the largest of its kind in the U.S., offering utility support for new EV charging infrastructure. Just two years after its establishment, PowerReady has already reportedly supported the deployment of more than 2,600 EV chargepoints, with a goal of 19,000 chargepoints by 2025, and 400,000 by 2035.

Distributed solar is another market that is growing rapidly in New York City. Con Edison’s metropolitan customers, plus Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties have installed more than 60,000 solar systems to date, totaling 700 MW of capacity, adding new clean generation capacity. About 52, 000 distributed generation systems have been installed in Con Edison’s metropolitan territory, while more than 10,000 systems have been deployed in its Orange and Rockland county utilities’ service territory, the company said.

To complement New York’s growing distributed energy resources, Con Edison has installed smart meters across nearly its entire customer base. Smart meters allow customers to track their energy usage in near real time, while giving Con Edison deeper insight into its electric network, improving system efficiency and reducing the impact of service outages.

The author of this pv magazine USA report can confirm Con Edison has lived up to its distributed energy roadmap, having a smart meter installed into his apartment building in the borough of Queens just before the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. He can also confirm the accessibility to procure community solar to offset his energy consumption via Con Edison from a rooftop warehouse solar generating facility in Long Island City, in the western terminus of the Queens borough.

Heat pumps

While residents and businesses continue to use natural gas and heating oil for heat and cooking throughout the year, Con Edison expects its deliveries of natural gas to decline significantly in the years ahead, as demand for electricity rises with the adoption of EVs and heat pumps.

The utility is supporting New York’s energy transition away from fossil fuel systems. The company has incentivized the installation of heat pumps and other clean heat technologies in more than 24,000 buildings, with a goal of electrifying 150,000 buildings by 2030.

Energy storage

Con Edison’s two main utility groups have a combined energy storage target of 1.5 GW deployed by 2025 and 6 GW by 2030, in line with the state of New York’s Energy Storage roadmap filed in December 2022.

With energy storage the utility anticipates storing energy produced by up and downstate wind and solar resources, which will allow for increased reliance on these clean but intermittent sources of electricity. Various storage assets will participate in NYISO’s wholesale market, the utility said.

Storage connected to distribution end points also provides opportunities to defer infrastructure build, such as non-wire solutions, enhance local reliability, support the deployment of EV charging, and help commercial and residential customers manage their bills.

Through 2022, Con Edison interconnected a total of 446 DG customer energy storage systems, totaling 24.6 MW of capacity, while its Orange and Rockland county utilities interconnected 403 projects with 19.1 MW of capacity.

BQDM storage RFP

Under the utility’s Non-Wire Solutions program, more than 4 MW of utility-scale energy storage systems were deployed through late 2022, with additional storage systems under contract for commercial operation in 2023 and 2024.

In 2022, Con Edison also announced incentives for customer-sited energy storage systems that provide demand relief in the Brooklyn-Queens Demand Management (BQDM) program area. The BQDM program is seeking project applications for up to 15 MW of grid-connected or load-following energy storage systems that will be in operation by summer 2026.

Con Edison has $69 billion of total assets under management and today traded for a $34 billion market capitalization. In March, Con Edison closed the divestment of its renewable energy division, Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses, to German utility RWE AG in a $6.8 billion transaction.

On the way toward meeting its sustainability goals, home improvement retailer Lowe’s announced additional solar installations on what will be a total of 174 stores and distribution centers nationwide, including 20 sites currently in operation. Once installation is completed, the solar panels will provide approximately 90% of on-site energy usage at each store location in California, New Jersey and Illinois.

DSD Renewables, a New York-based commercial and industrial solar developer, is installing 85.3 MW of solar on top of 55 Lowe’s stores in California (42.17 MW) and 36 stores and three distribution centers in Illinois (43.13 MW). These projects are expected to generate 123.6 GWh per year of clean power.

Greenskies Clean Focus, a Connecticut-based commercial, municipal and utility-scale developer, will install rooftop systems at 52 Lowe’s retail stores and two distribution centers in California. The initial production for the combined 48 MW portfolio is projected at 76 GWh per year, providing 90% of the energy usage at each location.

Infiniti Energy, a New Jersey-based solar power developer and independent power producer, has installed solar on 20 Lowe’s stores in New Jersey to date, totalling 22.9 MW. Brought online last August, they have produced an average 11 GWh. Infiniti plans to complete installations at six additional Lowe’s stores this year.

This investment in rooftop solar continues Lowe’s recent sustainability progress, including achieving its 2025 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, relative to 2016 emissions levels. In addition, the installations will help Lowe’s reduce its operational emissions and reach its goal of having its operations powered with 50% renewable energy by 2030.

“At Lowe’s, we are focused on operating responsibly and reducing our impact on the environment,” said Chris Cassell, vice president of corporate sustainability at Lowe’s. “Investing in renewable energy lowers operating costs and is an important step in reducing emissions associated with our stores and distribution centers. This initial rooftop solar portfolio is one example of the collaboration we seek with partners as we work toward our long-term and interim net-zero goals.”

New Jersey warehouse operator provides community solar access to 700 residents  RPM Warehousing now generates 4.3 MW of solar energy from two of its warehouse facilities in Edison and Avenel, N.J., and the logistics business plans to install a third rooftop solar array of about 3.5 MW to 4 MW on a 480,000 square foot facility at a site within a few miles of its HQ.

Ascent boosts production with acquisition of 15 MW Swiss thin-film producer  With the closing of this deal, Ascent will triple its production capacity from its 5 MW of existing nameplate capacity production.

Most solar won’t qualify for Inflation Reduction Act hydrogen incentive, per IEA data  An analysis by the International Energy Agency puts solar’s lifetime emissions, manufacturing included, at a level that would earn only 25% to 33.4% of the IRA’s $3/kg hydrogen incentive.

FEMA’s $13 billion for Puerto Rico’s grid could shift to solar if lawsuit succeeds  Rooftop solar-plus-storage would become the focus of FEMA’s spending to rebuild Puerto Rico’s grid, if a federal court grants the plaintiffs’ requests in a lawsuit, said their lead attorney. Equipping every home in Puerto Rico with 2.7 kW of PV and 12.6 kWh of battery backup is one option recommended by an independent study.

Lowe’s to install solar at 54 California locations  The hardware giant signed a power purchase agreement for a 48 MW portfolio of rooftop solar with Greenskies Clean Focus.

50 states of solar incentives: Wyoming  Wyoming has enough solar installed to power over 22,000 homes and is set to more than double its solar capacity over the next five years.

BorgWarner announces two U.S. battery and EV charging factory expansions  The company invested $42 million in a 3 GWh South Carolina expansion and $20 million in a Michigan plant upgrade.

New Jersey politicians, clean energy and environmental justice advocates and news media convened at an Earth Day week community solar event organized by project developer Solar Landscape to highlight a regional warehouse and logistics business providing solar energy to some 700 local residents. 

On Wednesday, pv magazine USA toured a 1.1 MW (dc) rooftop solar system of RPM Warehousing and Transportation in Avenel, N.J., where Brendon Shank, executive vice president for engagement, Solar Landscape, introduced seven statewide speakers who discussed the shared benefits of equitable solar generation hosted on commercial and industrial rooftops.  

Thomas Connery, chief operating officer of site host RPM Warehousing, told pv magazine USA that after the owner, operator and lessor of 10 warehouse facilities first installed a 480 kW rooftop solar array to offset its Edison, N.J. headquarters’ energy consumption in 2017, its management team saw the benefits of providing its “hundreds of thousands of square feet” warehouse roof space to provide clean energy to local residents. 

Connery said RPM now generates 4.3 MW of solar energy from two of its warehouse facilities in Edison and Avenel, N.J., which is available to local residents, and the logistics business plans to install a third rooftop solar array of about 3.5 MW to 4 MW on a 480,000 square foot facility at a site within a few miles of its Edison home base. 

The logistics executive said having on-site solar generation has offset 100% of the company’s own energy consumption, and over the last two years it saw traction in the New Jersey community solar market taking off to provide clean power access to local residents, many of whom are in low-to-moderate income households. In the early stages of providing community solar to Garden State residents, Connery said combined its facilities have saved local residents about $150,000 per year in energy savings and removed 3,600 tons of CO2 emissions from being burned by conventional power plants.  

Solar Landscape’s Shank said RPM’s first 3.2 MW facility in Edison, N.J. is nearly fully subscribed, while its second facility (1.1 MW) is nearing completion. John Bruno, a Solar Landscape rooftop installer, said the 1.1 MW facility is using about 2,300 Hanwha QCells modules on its rooftop, equipped with SolarEdge inverters. The installation took about one month to assemble. 

Bruno said he received solar installation training over a week-long training course held at a GAF Energy training center in Asbury Park, N.J., and finds the new career exciting, while in a nascent market “creating thousands of jobs along the way.” 

“Solar jobs are booming in New Jersey thanks to community solar,” said Tony Staynings, business community liaison, Edison Job Corps, a career training program for young adults.  “We are training our students to become part of the green energy workforce of the future and build projects like the one we are touring today.”

After neighboring state Maryland put out official plans for a long-term community solar platform earlier this week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is in the mid stages of seeing the state’s pilot community solar framework become a long-term platform. The New Jersey Board is receiving public stakeholder feedback at an April 24 public hearing, taking place at 1 p.m., while stakeholders have a May 15 deadline to send feedback to the regulator for or against the community solar framework, said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, a clean energy advocacy group. 

“New Jersey is the Saudi Arabia of rooftops,” said O’Malley about the Garden State’s many adaptable rooftop areas suitable for commercial and industrial solar systems.

Just 20 years ago, New Jersey had just six solar installations under its belt. Now the state has 4.41 GW of aggregate solar installations and provides enough clean energy to more than 705,165 households, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. 

Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, who represents the state’s 19th legislative district in Perth Amboy, N.J., was in attendance at the event and commended Solar Landscape for installing “shared access” power systems that provide clean energy to low-income residents across her district.   

“Whether it’s local composting, recycling, or now shared community energy access, we’re building a future for a time to come,” said Matilde Montalvo, a local community solar subscriber who signed up to procure power from a community solar project over the last year. 

Formed in 1981, RPM Warehousing is a public warehousing and transportation company with 1.5 million square feet of food-grade and general warehousing space along the East Coast at 10 facilities.  

Energy justice and promoting the development of low-to-moderate (LMI) income solar projects were common community solar themes at the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Finance, Tax and Buyers Seminar this week in New York.

During a panel titled, “How to Create Successful Community Solar and LMI Projects,” panelists from community and residential development companies said following statewide community solar programs set up Maryland and New Jersey recently, the community solar market should see additional programs set up in two or three more states this year.

Moderator Anna Balzer, solar community engagement coordinator of Boston Government Services, which supports the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), opened the session by saying the National Community Solar Partnership has set a target to enable community solar to provide $1 billion in monthly electricity bill savings over the next five years to subscribers.

Eric LaMora, executive director of community solar at Nautilus Solar, said community solar is enacted by state legislatures around the country to allow solar energy to close to 50% of U.S. households and small businesses that don’t physically have rooftops equipped for solar arrays.

By subscribing into community solar programs, developers and owners of such projects operate within a state utility’s framework in order to generate on average 10% to 20% savings to residents and business owners each month in the form of electric bill reductions, LaMora said, adding that community solar is now in 22 states.

Geoff Johnson, head of distributed generation for Cypress Creek Renewables, said low-to-middle income (LMI) community solar programs serve about 20% to 50% of that demographic bracket’s population, with NextEra Energy’s Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy being two utilities with noteworthy LMI community solar access programs in the southeast utilities’ territory.

Susannah Churchill, western policy director of Solar Landscape, a community solar developer based in New Jersey, one of the latest community solar states, said that in New Jersey the state utility framework requires 51% of projects be available to LMI residents for subscription.

LMI risks

Balzer was keen on pointing out that with any consumer subscription model comes non-payment risk among residents of the LMI bracket, which poses a risk to developers of community solar in new state markets.

“There is a distrust of community solar initially in LMI communities as many have been burned before by retail energy false promises,” said LaMora. “People are suspicious but there really are no hooks with community solar.”

LMI residents are leery to provide tax records or much documents at all in order to sign up for community solar, LaMora said.  “We were surprised to see less of a default rate with LMI residents. We attribute this to the fact that they see significant savings on their electric bill, making it easier to pay each month,” he said.

The three community solar developers agreed that Census Track Data and Self Attestation are the best tools to navigate where to deploy new LMI solar projects.

With few low-income bracket residents willing to provide tax records in a utility framework, developers site new projects based on statewide census track data, which shows counties and municipalities with higher LMI demographics over others.

Ben Healey, chief commercial officer of PosiGen, a residential solar installer to LMI residents, said similarities between his company and the community solar project developers to LMI groups are plenty. New Orleans-based PosiGen’s residential rooftop customers still show a delinquency rate of about 10% on payments across a group of 1,200 customers, while the company quickly turns power back on if payments are made after 90 days of non-payment, he said.

“New Orleans customers still pay monthly electric bills in cash, while the energy burden in the south is still felt from the gas utility side of the energy market,” Healey said.

Solar Landscape’s Churchill said self attestation is a method of identifying LMI community solar communities that involves interested subscribers in community programs just providing a signed disclosure with minimal proof of residence and that the household qualifies by a certain income standard to receive community solar discounted from its electric bill.

While the majority of low-income consumers having a low or no FICO credit score to serve as a payment metric, the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides the utility market a framework for community solar subscribers to self-attest to their income as a means to more equitable solar deployment, Balzer said.

As was before, LMI solar subscribers continue to receive one electric bill each month under a community solar program. With consolidated billing, the subscriber pays the utility and the utility remits payment to the developer, Churchill said. Cypress Creek’s Johnson said the consolidated billing system employed by a majority of the community solar market is the best method to keep LMI customers enrolled in community solar, as it provides a hands-free method of providing the savings of solar energy to low-income residents without additional paperwork or billing.

Challenges to adoption

Despite community solar providing social responsibility from an environmental, social and governance (ESG) mindset in the U.S. energy market, Nautilus Solar’s LaMora and Solar Landscape’s Churchill agreed that public utilities continue to be opponents to the widespread adoption of community solar.

“Utilities don’t want this,” LaMora exclaimed. “They’re forced into it.  What we need is to outline the rules utilities have to follow to support community solar expansion.”

Speaking to pv magazine USA on the sidelines of the SEIA Finance seminar, LaMora said other states around the Mid-Atlantic region are primed for community solar, pointing to Delaware as a state with favorable demographics, after advancements in neighboring states New Jersey and Maryland.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has filed a lawsuit against Vision Solar, citing numerous violations committed by the company. Vision Solar, a newcomer to Connecticut, was granted a Home Improvement Contractor license in December 2020, but starting in August 2021, the Attorney General’s office began to receive the first of 14 unique complaints against the company.

The legal complaint can be found here. 

The attorney general’s office states that “Vision Solar preyed on low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners, pressuring them into unaffordable loans for solar panels that in some cases were never activated”. The company’s in-home sales tactics included overstaying permitted hours, pressuring customers into immediate signatures, falsely claiming that signatures were for “pre-approval” only, and failing to deliver contracts to customers. The attorney general also alleged that Vision Solar made sales pitches to individuals with language or intellectual challenges who were unable to make informed purchasing decisions.

Vision Solar is also accused of misrepresenting the tax benefits of solar panel installation to those with no tax liability. The attorney general further suggested that Vision Solar applied for solar permits without proper licenses and may have used the license of an electrician no longer employed by the company to apply for some of those permits. Vision Solar is also alleged to have installed solar projects without a licensed electrician.

Vision Solar’s online reviews tell a similar story. With 176 reviews, Vision Solar received 1.79 out of 5 stars on SolarReviews.com. They earned an “F” with 1.21 out of 5 stars from the Better Business Bureau, with 203 reviews. On Yelp! the company earned only 1.5 out of 5 stars, and on Angie’s List (now just ‘Angi’) they received the site’s lowest possible score, 1 out of 5.

In 2020, Vision Solar sued Momentum Solar for trade secret violations. Momentum Solar itself was sued for racist and discriminatory actions. Online searches reveal multiple lawsuits against Vision Solar in New Jersey for violation of the Do Not Call list.

Despite the numerous complaints against the company, as of March 20, 2023, Vision Solar’s license is still listed as “active”.

Decarbonization is the move away from fossil fuel resources and toward renewable energy. But with the intermittency of renewables like wind and solar,  energy storage systems are required to ensure reliability. As states increasingly declare decarbonization goals, they will need to create new policies, rules and regulations that will enable the deployment of an unprecedented amount of energy storage, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), which just released its States Energy Storage Policy: Best Practices for Decarbonization report.

CESA published the report jointly with Sandia National Laboratories, and it highlights best practices, identifies barriers, and underscores the urgent need to expand state energy storage policymaking to support decarbonization in the U.S. The report is based on findings in a 2022 survey of the states leading in decarbonization goals and programs, and it looks at key state energy storage policy priorities and a series of case studies show the challenges encountered by some of the leading states.

The state survey distribution resulted in 22 responses from 14 states plus the District of Columbia. The following states were represented in the survey responses:

An industry survey was also completed by representatives of six energy storage development companies, plus one industry consultant who formerly worked for an energy storage development company:  Enel North America, Key Capture Energy, New Leaf Energy (formerly Borrego), Nostromo Energy, Sunrun, and Tesla.

At the time the study was conducted, 22 states (plus the District of Columbia) adopted decarbonization goals, however, not all have set policy for energy storage deployment. California and New York are cited as examples of states with “very advanced and sophisticated policy measures”. Many others are beginning to assess energy storage policy needs.

What motivates a state to develop energy storage policy? The Best Practices report says it varies. Regulated utilities may request regulatory action because they are seeking to recover the costs of their investments in energy storage. Third-party developers may have found gaps in interconnection rules or valuation standards that the regulatory commission needs to address. And also the process of energy planning at the executive or legislative level may require policy decisions in order to meet the state’s clean energy goals.

The report outlines the four steps to policy development from Level 1, which is demonstrated interest in storage up to the fourth “maturity level” of including storage in strategic plans, and ranks the states by level of maturity. California, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey and New York had all achieved Level 4.

Those states that are just beginning the process have cited a few reasons for their delays in developing storage policy and programs. These include lack of clarity as to which cases are best suited for storage, a belief that storage may become more important later in their process, ongoing best practices assessments, and cost.

Another observation of the study shows that even states with advanced decarbonization goals still struggle with whether and how to deploy storage, especially with the challenge of bringing it to scale within the state’s decarbonization timeframe.

The report found commonalities as to what the states will include in their future energy infrastructures:

• A mix of central and local generators, energy storage, and other distributed energy resources
• A significant expansion of batteries and other energy storage technologies to be used for both emergency backup generation and as peak shaving resources, along with an enhancement of the ability to build infrastructure that can accommodate this significant expansion of energy storage resources
• The use of microgrids or other distributed energy resources (DERs) and their associated management systems to integrate and optimize an increasing amount of on-site intermittent renewable generation and energy storage

The authors caution that this report “highlights early stage results in a highly changeable field.” The study found, for example, that different states face different challenges. Some operate in very different energy markets and regulatory environments, for example. The consensus among respondents is that energy storage is key to hitting decarbonization goals. With fewer than half the leading decarbonization states having set an energy storage procurement goal, there is much more work to be done. But as more states develop energy storage programs to support their decarbonization goals, best practices are emerging that other states can emulate.

A March 23 webinar will summarize findings from the survey. Developed on behalf of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.

CEP Renewables activated a 17 MW brownfield solar project in the Garden State. Located in Holland, N.J., the CEP announced the conversion of the brownfield project earlier this week with contractor CS Energy and project owner NJR Clean Energy Ventures.

The facility uses fixed-tilt axis solar arrays and was built in two phases on the site of a decommissioned industrial paper mill complex.

NJR Clean Energy acquired the Holland project in 2021 from CEP Renewables, and currently owns 63 commercial solar projects throughout New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with a portfolio of more than 430 MW of installed capacity.

“We’re pleased to leverage our extensive experience with redeveloping Superfund and brownfield sites to turn this previously contaminated property into a source of solar energy, jobs and tax revenue,” said Chris Ichter, executive vice president of CEP Renewables. “We were able to efficiently overcome the unique challenges this site posed by working closely with the property owner and the EPC, CS Energy, at every stage of the project.”

“We are committed to building a clean energy future with projects like Holland,” said Robert Pohlman, vice president of NJR Clean Energy Ventures. “By repurposing brownfields and other underutilized spaces to produce clean, renewable energy, CEV is helping to deliver clean energy innovations that drive emission reduction goals and power a more sustainable future.”

The former paper mill complex was abandoned in the 1990s and fell into disrepair, said the project developer. CEP Renewables was sought out by the property owner to redevelop the land.  CEP’s team reviewed the environmental history and provided critical review and recommendations before completing remediation work at the site.

By doing remediation on its own, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection was able to quickly review and issue a remedial action permit. CEP’s team enhanced the existing engineering controls to be compatible for solar project development, said the developer.

CEP Renewables and CS Energy also overcame several challenges, including the permitting and construction of a second phase of the project overlapping with the first. Additionally, the project had to be built around a historic farmhouse and powerhouse located on a portion of the property.

In December, CEP Renewables and its partners announced the completion of what is the largest recorded North American brownfield solar project, at 25.6 MW in Mount Olive, N.J. Located at the former Combe Fille North Landfill Superfund site, the large brownfield solar project will provide the township of Mount Olive with close to $2.3 million in past tax revenues while creating a future revenue-generating renewable energy asset.

With 10,000 closed landfill sites in the U.S., there has been an 80% increase in the number of landfill solar project developments at brownfield sites in recent years, according to the EPA.

According to New Jersey’s Environmental Protection website, the capped Mount Olive landfill is a 65-acre brownfield site that ceased accepting waste in 1981.

The project was developed by CEP Renewables and CS Energy. Lindsay Precast supplied steel skids for the project and Terrasmart supplied its Glide fixed-tilt, ballasted mounted rack systems. NJR Clean Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of investor-owned utility New Jersey Resources, will own and operate the solar facility under a long-term agreement.

Under New Jersey’s 2019 Energy Master Plan, the Garden State outlined a goal of producing 100% renewable energy assets by 2050 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2006 levels.  The state identified 30 prospective and development-stage brownfield landfill solar sites at the time of the master plan.

CEP Renewables has constructed 158.5 MW of solar projects to date in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  The Holland, N.J. project is the company’s third New Jersey landfill solar project after the Mount Olive (26.5 MW) and South Brunswick (13 MW) project, which was installed in mid-2018. CS Energy, an American Securities portfolio company, has installed about 197.1 MW of landfill solar projects to date around the Northeast U.S. out of a 1.5 GW operational solar portfolio.

Landfill solar

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) developed a comprehensive report, “The Future of Landfills is Bright,” designed for elected officials, policymakers, planners, and developers, to learn how landfill solar can be part of a broader clean energy and land-use strategy to achieve ambitious community-wide climate, sustainability, and environmental justice goals.

RMI said there are more than 10,000 closed and inactive landfills across the country. It said more than 63 GW of solar power plant capacity could be located at less than half of US landfills, generating 83 terawatt hours of electricity each year across all 50 states. The plants also could generate more than $6.6 billion annually in electricity revenue. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, around 428 MW of utility-scale landfill solar across 126 projects had been installed at the end of 2019. Notably, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York are home to 73% of all US utility-scale landfill solar projects.

California utilities commission advised to block solar and storage microgrid application  In a move that was “shocking” to solar and storage provider Sunnova, the California Public Utilities Commission made yet another decision in favor of the investor-owned electric utility giants.

People on the Move: Big Sun Solar, FranklinWH, NextEra and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities, and energy transition finance.

New Jersey commits to 100% clean energy by 2035  In addition to accelerating the state’s commitment to clean energy, the governor launched the process to adopt a clean cars initiative, which would require all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, and more.

Energy justice, LMI solar strike a chord at Intersolar  The energy burden on disadvantaged or low-to-moderate income communities has translated to more than 15% of disadvantaged households’ income devoted to paying for energy each month as the cost for electricity rises, compared to 2 to 3% that average income households typically pay for energy each month.

RoyPow introduces whole home backup solar battery  The company is introducing the residential lithium-ferro-phosphate battery at Intersolar in Long Beach, California.

Enteligent introduces DC-to-DC solar EV charger  Debuting this week at Intersolar North America, Enteligent’s charger is powered by the sun and eliminates DC-to-AC power conversion.

Governor Phil Murphy announced a series of commitments to further “green” the Garden State, not the least of which is the target of 100% clean energy by 2035, bumping up the previous goal by 15 years. Additionally, the Governor intends to accelerate electrification efforts with grant funding for heavy-duty electric vehicles (EVs). And he announced the plan to phase out combustion engine vehicles, ensuring that in 2035 and beyond, all new cars sold will be electric.

“These bold targets and carefully crafted initiatives signal our unequivocal commitment to swift and concrete climate action today,” said Governor Murphy. “We’ve turned our vision for a greener tomorrow into a responsible and actionable roadmap to guide us, and it’s through that pragmatic, evidence-based approach that we will ultimately arrive at our destination. Combined with our federal partnerships reinforced through the Inflation Reduction Act, these comprehensive initiatives will better protect and prepare every New Jersey community, including those on the front lines of climate change who have previously been left out and left behind.”

The six pillars that serve as the foundation for a cleaner, greener, and more resilient New Jersey include:

1. Adoption through Executive Order No. 315 of an accelerated target of 100% clean energy by 2035, defined as 100% of the electricity sold in the State to come from clean sources of electricity by January 1, 2035 through clean energy market mechanisms, paired with support for a Clean Energy Standard in New Jersey
2. Adoption through Executive Order No. 316 of a target to install zero-carbon-emission space heating and cooling systems in 400,000 homes and 20,000 commercial properties and make 10% of all low-to-moderate income (LMI) properties electrification-ready by 2030
3. Initiation through Executive Order No. 317 of a process in partnership with the state’s hometown utilities, key stakeholders including organized labor, and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to plan for the Future of the Natural Gas Utility in New Jersey
4. Allocation of $70 million in unobligated Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction proceeds toward lowering consumer upfront costs for medium- and heavy-duty EV adoption
5. Initiation of the stakeholdering process to adopt Advanced Clean Cars II in New Jersey, which would require all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) by 2035
6. Anticipated proposal of the NJ PACT REAL rules in Summer 2023, which will provide enhanced flood protection for homeowners, businesses, and infrastructure against increased flooding in riverine and coastal areas

“Our deep affection for New Jersey and the people who call it home propel us to adopt policies and launch programs that help us address and adapt to the realities of climate change,” said “The climate change impacts we are already experiencing in our state demand that we take innovative, decisive action today to give future generations of New Jersey residents a chance at a good quality of life,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver.

Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters noted that these policies will create new union jobs in “growing green industries” He added that “Other states looking to combat climate change, protect our environment, and create good local jobs that can’t be outsourced must now take their cues from New Jersey.”

“With today’s actions, Gov. Murphy is solidifying New Jersey’s position as a national leader in the clean energy economy as he boosts our renewables and building electrification targets and ensures that the energy of the future is cutting harmful air pollution and slashing consumer energy costs for New Jerseyans right now,” said Mary Barber, director, State Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “Cars and trucks will be cleaner and more affordable, and many of the measures announced today will be supercharged by the Biden administration’s landmark clean energy plan. Gov. Murphy sees the road ahead and is entrusting Garden State residents to make climate-friendly choices and put pedal to the metal in the 21st century economy.”

For more about New Jersey’s solar policies, read “50 states of solar incentives: New Jersey”.

The U.S. microgrid market reached 10 GW in the third quarter of 2022, with more than 7 GW in operation and the rest in planning or construction stages, according to latest analysis from Wood Mackenzie’s Grid Edge Service.

Microgrids are groups of distributed energy resources, such as solar modules on a home, connected to a battery system, that can disconnect from the grid and operate independently during a power outage.

“Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic and associated macroeconomic challenges causing a two-year slowdown in the U.S., the microgrid market is developing at a rapid pace and 2022 is on track to be a record year for installations and scheduled pipelines,” said Elham Akhavan, senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

Akhavan noted that microgrids are installed across various customer segments, with commercial and industrial leading the way. Microgrids are embraced in industries such as department stores and manufacturing, “indicating a rise in demand for an uninterrupted service,” he said, adding that the government sector takes second place, followed closely by residential and education sectors.

Military microgrid installations will likely grow as a result of the U.S. Army’s resiliency goal to install a microgrid on every installation by 2035. These will include renewable generation and large-scale battery storage, with the goal being able to “self-sustain its critical missions” on all Army installations by 2040.

According to Wood Mackenzie data, the U.S. microgrid market saw a 47% increase in solar and storage capacity additions in 2022 compared to 2017 levels. Moreover, the data shows that more than 175 solar projects and solar-plus-storage microgrids have been in active development and were scheduled to come online by the end of 2022.

“There’s been a significant shift in technology type, in particular the rise of solar and storage demand among microgrid customers, largely driven by corporate ESG goals,” Akhavan said. He noted that there’s been an uptake of “multi-distributed energy resource (DER) microgrids,” which may include a fossil fuel generator that acts as a backup power generator in cases where solar and batteries alone cannot mitigate long-duration outages.

Business models

The microgrid-as-a-service (MaaS) business model is projected to experience continued growth across various non-utility customer segments, and according to Wood Mackenzie’s data, the share of MaaS deals grew 25% from 2019 to Q3 2022, while the percentage of microgrids owned by end-users dropped 31% from 2019 to Q3 2022.

“While third-party financing in general is not a new model, MaaS is evolving beyond PPA contracts, which often involves procurement from a single DER to an affordable solution for financing the construction, operation and maintenance of multiple DERs, tailored to the customer’s energy objectives,” Akhavan added.

Wood Mackenzie data shows that there are 28 states with utility microgrids, with approximately 35 MW of projects expected to have come online in 2022. This implies total utility microgrid capacity of over 1.1 GW.

“Although utilities typically look to rate-base microgrids, some are partnering with developers to offer microgrids to their customers under MaaS agreements,” said Akhavan said. “For example, Enchanted Rock announced a utility partnership program in early 2022 that enables utilities to offer comprehensive ‘resilience-as-a-service’ to its customers.” Enchanted Rock deploys commercial-scale microgrids that use natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG) to reduce carbon emissions and pollutants found in traditional diesel generators.

Akhavan estimates that we will see more than 20% growth in annual capacity installation of microgrids, if the market continues on its current trajectory. The industry has seen growth in the Northeast where a range of competitive grant programs are supporting resilience projects for critical facilities.

“The West Coast, led by California, is growing substantially, with a strong pipeline due to go into operation by 2024. This is followed closely by the Southwest market, which has expanded more than three times since 2019. Texas is the frontrunner, with two of the leading developers in the region, PowerSecure and Enchanted Rock, having installed all capacity so far in 2022,” Akhavan added.

Over $500 million in tax revenue expected from 800 MW Ohio solar project  The Oak Run solar project developed by Savion would create over 3,000 construction jobs and generate up to $504 million in tax revenue over its lifespan, 60% of which would fund local school districts.

Thin, lightweight coating protects perovskite solar in space An ultrathin coating protects a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and hardens it against environmental factors on Earth, according to a study by researchers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Town recoups $2.3 million in back taxes with solar on a landfill  CEP Renewables installs nearly 60,000 solar panels on former municipal landfill, transitioning previously unusable land into revenue-generating, clean energy asset.

Non-profit group to deploy 2.2 MW rooftop solar on D.C. houses  When complete, the non-profit, Enterprise Community Partners, will have more than 3,000 housing units with installed solar systems.

Bipartisan group files to repeal solar tariff moratorium  The tariff reaches as high as 250% of the cost of solar components shipped from four Southeast Asian countries responsible for 80% of the supply of solar in the US.

LG Energy Solution sees record profit in Q4  One of the leading global battery manufacturers, LG Energy Solution, announced an increase of 43% in revenue and nearly 60% in operating profit as it seeks to expand in North America.

Trade policy, supply chain murk waters for utility solar growth  A recent Wood Mackenzie report looks at trade, supply chain constraints, and equipment prices that curbed utility-scale solar installations.

There are over 10,000 closed landfills in the United States, and it has been determined that closed landfills could host more than 60 GW of solar capacity – enough to power 7.8 million homes, according to a 2021 study by RMI, and this figure is rapidly increasing with the growing number of landfill projects in the past two years. CEP Renewables, for example, currently has 16 landfill or brownfield solar projects under development, and the company reports that its most recently completed 25.6 MW Mount Olive, project is the largest landfill solar project in North America.

CEP was selected by the Township of Mount Olive, New Jersey to redevelop the former Combe Fill North Landfill Superfund site into a revenue generating, solar energy asset. The landfill had been operating as a municipal sanitary landfill for fifteen years. In the early 1980s the owner went bankrupt, the property was abandoned and the landfill closed.

Like many former landfills, the property was listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Priorities List of Superfund sites. Due to its improper closure, runoff from the landfill was draining into local creeks and contaminating groundwater that nearly 10,000 community members depended on.

The town was also losing tax revenue, as $2.3 million was still owed in back taxes on the abandoned land. Most commercial developers also did not want to purchase the property because environmental restrictions and New Jersey environmental requirements meant that no commercial uses could be built on the sensitive, capped landfill without risking piercing the landfill’s protective seal. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) eventually determined that it would only allow a solar facility to be built on this former landfill site and the Township adopted a redevelopment plan permitting a solar array.

Public-private partnership

CEP’s team of landfill and brownfield experts negotiated a unique public-private partnership with the Township and NJDEP that allowed CEP to purchase the landfill by way of the redevelopment and tax lien foreclosure process. As part of the agreement, CEP agreed to pay the back taxes to the Township over time in addition to redeveloping the land into a tax revenue-producing solar field.

The deal also involved an administrative consent order between the NJDEP and CEP that stated that in exchange for CEP agreeing to redevelop the land and take over long-term maintenance of the cap, the State of New Jersey would assume all liability for air pollution and water contamination associated with the site.

The solar installation includes approximately 57,000 450 W Boviet solar modules with a Toshiba Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Systems (TMEIS) inverter. The project won the 2021 Award for Innovation in Governance from the New Jersey League of Municipalities, and it now serves as a financial and legal model for the myriad other closed landfill sites throughout the U.S. to follow.

“Only a small fraction of the 10,000 closed landfills across the U.S. have been converted into solar fields. The unique structure we used to implement this project now serves as a model that can be leveraged to redevelop more closed landfills into revenue producing assets that facilitate cleaner air, tax revenue, jobs, and more affordable energy for residents,” said Chris Ichter, executive vice president at CEP Renewables

Landfill settlement analysis

Landfill settlement analysis is critical in order to ensure that the design and construction preparation is adequate for installing the solar array atop the landfill, while avoiding damage to its protective layer. The stability and slopes of various sections of the landfill need to be determined through this analysis, which will then help with specifying where the best locations to enable site access are, given that there will be obstructions that need to be considered.

CS Energy completed a thorough landfill settlement analysis on this site prior to designing and engineering the solar installation and developing the site access plans. The company was able to use its experience on over 200 MW of landfill solar projects to conduct this analysis, which included the use of ground penetration radar, to determine landfill weight requirements and the safest access points. CS Energy planned out the cable tray locations to ensure access in and out of each of these key areas, which is crucial not only for the installation of the solar system, but also for ongoing operations and maintenance work  in the long term.

Based on this analysis, CS Energy used only tracked equipment and, where required, low ground bearing pressure machines. Ultimately, CS Energy was able to design and build this project on time and on budget, without affecting the landfill cap, as a result of its significant preparation work and extremely cautious construction at each stage of the project’s design and construction.

Value engineering

Being the largest landfill solar project in North America, every slight increase in product cost is multiplied and compounded across the entirety of this immense project. Terrasmart, the racking and mounting provider, had seen concrete costs rising, which affected the cost of its ballast blocks. This presented a challenge, as mounting solution companies need to be able to minimize the tilt of the solar array in order to reduce the amount and size of blocks needed, while still ensuring high energy yields from the solar array.

Additionally, in cold climate locations, the solar array tilt cannot be so low that an inordinate amount of snow is able to pile up and cause a great deal of stress on the racking system. This is particularly important for projects like the Mount Olive project, which are located on top of a sensitive landfill cap that cannot be pierced.

The GLIDE solution

Leveraging its experience on several other large-scale landfill solar projects in cold weather locations, Terrasmart was able to successfully design and engineer their GLIDE ballasted mounting solution for this project such that the cost of the blocks was reduced by 50 percent. From wind studies to countless solar generation analyses, Terrasmart determined the optimal tilt and block size to help CEP meet its project budget and energy production goals – all while protecting the sensitive landfill cap.

With over 20 GW of solar deployed across 4,800 solar systems, including its legacy business RBI Solar’s decades of experience in solar landfill development, the new Terrasmart has become the leading provider of solar racking technologies that provide solutions for projects located on all types of terrain.

Landfill solar projects often require fixed-tilt, ballasted mounting solutions that do not pose a risk of piercing or otherwise damaging the landfill cap, which could result in the spread of hazardous contaminants. In order to ensure the myriad integration and delivery deadlines for the skid mount system are met, close collaboration with project partners is paramount.

Having completed over 4,000 skids, Lindsay Precast was able to leverage its steel skid manufacturing and integration capabilities, including on many landfill solar projects. Lindsay Precast’s deep understanding of the entire value chain of a solar project and ability to efficiently provide quotes and accurate schedule estimates made this challenging project as streamlined as possible.

Precast has also completed countless projects with Terrasmart and this project marks the company’s seventh project with CS Energy, which includes the award-winning Cuyahoga landfill solar project. The decades of experience Lindsay Precast has spent working with these partners enabled the skid mounting solutions for this project to be seamlessly integrated and delivered on time and within budget.

Benefits and long-term impact

As a result of CEP, CS Energy, Terrasmart and Lindsay Precast’s extensive landfill solar project experience and collaboration, the Township of Mount Olive was able to not only recoup approximately $2.3 million in back taxes but will also now benefit from future taxes that this property will provide. The electricity generated by the array is enough to power over 4,000 homes.

The 25.6 MW dc of solar electric power contributes to the State of New Jersey’s aggressive renewable energy production goals. After 40 years, the property now has a long-term owner – CEP Renewables – that will be responsible for maintaining the landfill cap for the duration of the life of the facility. The Mount Olive project now serves as a model for the plethora of other closed landfill sites throughout the United States, both in terms of the redevelopment process as well as the design and construction execution, while providing cleaner air and more affordable clean energy for local communities.

CEP is currently under development on at least 16 other landfill or brownfield redevelopment projects in New Jersey. However, without a dramatic change in the state’s policy and attitude toward these projects, creating more successes like Mount Olive will prove difficult, if not impossible.

These projects are all certified by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) under what is known as the subsection “t” certification process. Subsection “t” is a subsection of the Solar Act of 2012 that provides a regulatory framework by which landfill and brownfield redevelopment projects receive state incentives. Once certified under subsection “t,” a project has two years to complete commercial energization. That timeframe is currently impossible due to a multi-year interconnection moratorium announced in April 2022 by PJM Interconnection, LLC, the regional interconnection organization that monitors New Jersey’s and other states’ electrical grids.

Due to the PJM delays, most of CEP’s projects will not be eligible for interconnection until 2027 or 2028 at the earliest.

Although the NJBPU is aware of this, the most the Board has been willing to do is extend the 2-year construction period by up to one 12-month extension – which is not nearly enough time based on PJM’s published information regarding the delays and PJM’s interconnection reform process, which was just recently approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

CEP has petitioned the Board to reconsider the 12-month extension to provide sufficient time to allow these important and transformative projects to interconnect to the regional grid. Unless the state and the Board get behind these projects and allow them the time necessary to proceed, it is unlikely that the state will see more successes like Mount Olive.

CEP remains optimistic that the Mount Olive project can be replicated on additional closed landfills throughout the state with the support of the state and NJBPU, as landfill redevelopment solar projects are necessary to mitigate climate change and provide precious funds, cleaner air and more affordable clean energy to local communities, particularly those that have been burdened by these economically and environmentally destructive properties for decades.

Lisa DeMarco, communications director at TwentyTwo & Brand.

Packaging company Sonoco Products flipped the switch on for a 1 MW rooftop solar array this past week at a Dayton, N.J. warehouse facility.  The new system installed by Novitium Energy will produce 1.295 million kWh of clean power per year and allow the industrial facility to self generate 58% of its electricity from solar panels.

Over the 25-year lifespan of the C&I solar system, the kilowatt hours avoided via solar produced at Sonoco will eliminate greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 10,235 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of 1.15 million gallons of gasoline burned.

The rooftop system uses 2,469 JinkoSolar Eagle JKM-405 watt mono facial modules to power the warehouse facility.  The system is connected to eight SolarEdge SE100K-US inverters, at 100 kW AC each providing a total of 800 kW AC paired with SolarEdge P960 optimizers. The rooftop system is mounted using Aerocompact’s CompactFlat S05 ballasted racking hardware, while the system’s power is monitored via AlsoEnergy’s data acquisition software, Jeremy Conner, chief executive officer of Novitium Energy, told pv magazine USA.

“We are thankful to Novitium, our local team, and engineers who have been engaged in making this effort a success. This will bring Sonoco one step closer to meeting our emissions reduction goals,” said Elizabeth Rhue, VP of global environmental, sustainability and centralized technology, Sonoco.

New York Stock Exchange-listed Sonoco has 22,000 employees and in August 2022 filed its 2021-2022 Corporate Sustainability Report titled, “Better Packaging. Better Life. Building a Better World.” Aligned with the Science Based Targets framework of the Paris Climate Agreement, Sonoco’s sustainability report calls for reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions at least 25% by 2030, and reducing energy consumption by 8% at its manufacturing facilities.  At its 300 global manufacturing operations the company has undertaken a review to include energy efficiency and renewable energy resources such as the Dayton, N.J. rooftop solar system. Founded in 1899, Sonoco produces consumer food and beverage packaging as well as industrial packaging products, and has placed on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies list for the past four years.

Formerly known as National Energy Partners, Vorhees, N.J.-based Novitium is a commercial and industrial solar developer that has developed a $100 million portfolio consisting of rooftop, carport and ground-mounted systems for corporations, educational facilities and non-profit organizations across New Jersey.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, New Jersey is ranked the eighth largest solar state in the U.S., producing 4.27 GW of solar energy at about 170 facilities, with solar accounting for 6.7% of the Garden State’s energy mix through September 30.

Unlike other states, where capacity figures can be driven by one specific type of solar installation, New Jersey has a healthy mix of residential, commercial and industrial (C&I), utility-scale.  Over the next five years, the state is expected to bring online an additional 2 GW of new solar projects.

Besides Sonoco, a number of corporations procure solar energy in New Jersey, including Prologis, Amazon and Hartz Mountain Industries. Hartz’s 8.5 MW solar project in Hamilton, N.J. is currently the largest C&I solar project in the state.

The Garden State is home to a number of active solar developers and independent power producers such as Soltage, Nautilus Solar Energy, CS Energy and Core Development Group.

The energy transition has caused an upswing in interconnection costs related to network upgrades across the PJM Interconnection market, according to a new study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. PJM is a regional transmission organization that serves 13 states and the District of Columbia.

At year-end 2021, PJM had 259 GW of new power generation and storage capacity actively seeking grid interconnection. Capacity in PJM’s queue is dominated by solar (116 GW), standalone energy storage (42 GW), solar-plus-storage systems (32 GW), and wind power (39 GW).

PJM’s queue has ballooned in recent years, with 2021’s active queue increasing by 240% compared to year-end 2019. The capacity associated with interconnection requests is nearly twice as large as PJM’s peak load in recent years (155 GW). This explosive growth of interconnection requests along with lengthy study timelines and high project withdrawal rates (423 GW) motivated the Mid-Atlantic grid operator to reform its interconnection process in 2022.

Going forward, PJM has adopted a “first-ready, first-served” approach and increased study deposits that are at risk when projects withdraw.

The PJM study culls data from more than 1,100 projects, covering 86% of new generators in the grid from 2000 to 2022. However, the Berkeley Lab notes the difficulty in finding project cost specific data, creating an information barrier for developers, regulators and policy makers.

For completed projects, average costs have doubled relative to pre-pandemic costs, from $42 per kW to $84 per kW, with a median of $18 per kW to $30 per kW).

For active projects, interconnection costs have ballooned higher, from $29/kW to $240/kW between pre-pandemic costs and costs starting in 2020.

Withdrawn projects face the highest costs, averaging at $599/kW, with a median of $156/kW, which is likely a key driver for those withdrawals, the report notes.

Full access to the study can be found here.

Network upgrade cost driver

The key driver to interconnection cost increases has been network upgrade costs, Berkeley Lab finds.  The average costs for upgrades beyond the substation have risen sharply since 2019, to $71/kW for complete projects, $227/kW for active projects, and $563/kW for withdrawn projects.

A small group of generators face lower network upgrade costs by choosing interconnection services as an energy source instead of a capacity resource. However, as a result project owners forfeit preferential treatment during daily high load times, cannot participate in PJM’s capacity market, and may face increased curtailment.

Among recently completed projects, interconnection costs have fallen for natural gas ($18/kW) facilities, while increasing for both solar ($99/kW) and onshore wind ($60/kW) relative to historical costs through 2016. Costs for both active and withdrawn storage and solar plus storage projects are surprisingly high ($337/kW), but complete projects are much cheaper (storage: $4/kW, solar hybrid: $20/kW).

The PJM study was funded in part under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X), and builds on Berkeley Lab’s previous work tracking interconnection requests and timelines.

After a recent study from October 2022 examining interconnection costs in the MISO market, the Berkeley Lab will publish future analyses on the NYISO, ISO-NE, and SPP markets in the coming months.

Researchers develop solar-powered waste-to-fuel system  The University of Cambridge developed a device that converts plastics and greenhouse gases to usable fuels and products.

Tennessee manufacturer to power operations with 526 kW rooftop solar array  Solar Alliance completed the design, engineering, and installation. Plus, REAP grants help rural small businesses save on solar.

New York approves siting for upstate solar projects with 309 MW output  Two EDF Renewables projects with 219 MW of capacity will be deployed in Jefferson County, where National Grid has identified the need for additional distributed generation resources. One AES project with 100 MW capacity was approved.

Photocatalytic water splitting with 9.2% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency  A U.S. research team developed a new technique to produce hydrogen from sunlight and water. It works in an indoor environment and uses pure water, concentrated solar light, and an indium gallium nitride photocatalyst.

Solar4America begins module production at 2.4 GW Sacramento factory  Initial production of 700 MW of American-made modules will ramp to 2.4 GW later this year. The site includes production lines for 410 W and 550 W modules.

Community solar on New Jersey self-storage facility benefits low-income residents  Solar Landscape plans a total of ten installations on Extra Space Storage sites, bringing reduced-cost energy to over 700 low- and moderate-income New Jersey residents.

Sun-tracking vs. fixed vehicle-integrated PV  European researchers have evaluated the electricity generation, levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and payback period of vehicle-integrated PV in EVs.

Solar Landscape, a community solar owner and operator, today announced that the solar developer connected a community solar project to the grid in Neptune, New Jersey. This is the second of 46 projects in approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in Year 2 of the Community Solar Energy Pilot Program, which approved approved 164 MW of new community solar projects, with the capacity aimed at serving low-to-moderate-income (LMI) households.

The community solar program is administered by New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program, which provides access to solar energy through a subscription-based model. It is open to residents in Neptune City, Neptune Township, Asbury Park City, Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar Boro, Bradley Beach Boro, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, and Wall Township.

The solar energy generated on the Extra Space Storage facility rooftop is sold at a guaranteed discount of at least 21% on their electricity usage. The discounts would begin appearing on community solar subscribers’ first utility bill in some cases, although in other cases they may take up to 90 days once a project is activated. 

The project is located on the 800,000 square foot rooftop of an Extra Space Storage facility, and is the first of 10 planned installations on facilities owned by the national self-storage company. This first installation will generate approximately 500 kW of energy. With the additional installations, Solar Landscape is expected to generate 6.5 MW of renewable energy on Extra Space Storage rooftops, or enough to power more than 1,400 nearby homes.

“The activation of this project will extend solar access to Monmouth County residents who would otherwise be unable to benefit from clean energy, while also making crucial progress toward achieving New Jersey’s clean energy goals. Thank you to Solar Landscape, and everyone who worked to bring this project to fruition,” said Vin Gopal, New Jersey State Senator from Monmouth.

Through the New Jersey Community Solar Energy Pilot Program’s Year 1 and 2, Solar Landscape has 70 MW of solar energy built or under construction. The Community Solar Energy Pilot Program is part of Governor Murphy’s clean energy plan to expands access to renewable energy for those who previously could not install solar panels for reasons such as high costs, lack of roof control, or a shaded property. 

Regulators awarded 78 MW across 45 projects during the pilot program’s first year, exceeding a 75 MW goal. While the pilot required that at least 40% of all approved projects reserve at least 51% of their capacity for low- and middle-income households, all of the approved renewable energy projects met that goal. Regulators also said that the state will transition the two-year-old pilot community solar program to permanent status. The decision to move to a permanent program now rather than wait for a third year of the pilot to commence was driven by the pilot’s early success.

San Diego, California-based Luminia, a financier of community solar and other sustainability projects, reports that it closed 2022 with over $2.5 billion in commercial solar financing requests across the U.S., representing close to 200 MW of commercial solar projects, with a development pipeline of 600 MW of additional projects.

In 2022, Luminia (formerly SD Renewables), offered financing solutions that catered to commercial property owners across 36 states with diverse needs. Its solutions range from multi-family and industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) portfolios to private education institutions and agricultural projects.

The company enables property owners to gain access to a range of sustainability and asset value improvements, such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure and water conservation improvements. The projects it supports vary in size and scope to meet individual state and municipal requirements with an average project size of 9.5 MW. The five key markets for the company are Massachusetts, New York, Maine, New Hampshire and New Jersey. In Maine, during 2022 Luminia closed a 15 MW of community solar project with NH Solar Garden, providing access to intermediate and long-term financing.

Luminia continues to expand its suite of financial offerings catered to large commercial portfolio owners. “Our team brings decades of experience as owners and lessors of tenant-occupied commercial real estate. Our REIT-friendly financing structures allow landlords to efficiently share the benefits of solar with their tenants, enabling both landlords and tenants to profitably accelerate solar adoption and meet their ESG objectives,” said Jim Kelly, co-founder of Luminia. “In addition, our strategic focus on community solar provides yet another option for our portfolio clients to monetize their rooftops.”

“By eliminating the financing barriers that once hindered commercial solar progress, we are experiencing explosive demand from our top rated solar partners, especially in the burgeoning community solar space,” said David Field, chief executive officer and co-founder of Luminia.

Luminia’s solution was recently launched on Energy Toolbase’s  ETB Developer platform, which helps developers to access power purchase agreement quotes and additional financing options that are intended to match their customers’ needs.

AEP Energy Partners, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, is soliciting a request for proposal (RFP) process for off-take agreements from new and existing solar and wind projects in the PJM Interconnection market and solar projects in ERCOT to support the company’s growing retail and wholesale loads in Ohio and Texas, respectively.

In PJM, AEP’s offtake procurement include’s the city of Columbus, Ohio’s community choice aggregation program. PJM is  a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in a large Mid-Atlantic and Midwest region that extends from New Jersey to Illinois, and stretches as far south as the outer banks of North Carolina.

AEP is seeking RFPs for 10, 12 and 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for new PJM located solar or wind projects, as well as 5 to 15-year agreements for existing projects (including repowering wind projects) in PJM.

In Texas, AEP is seeking renewable energy purchase (REP) agreements of 12 years or less for new ERCOT solar projects.

View full details about the AEP Energy Partners RFP process.

Notice of intent to bid must be received by AEP on or before Dec. 30, 2022.  Proposal packages are due by 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 13, 2023.  Proposals are due by email to Jennifer Williams (jewilliams@aepes.com) and Sean Handel (sthandel@aepes.com).

Further RFP details are available here or by contacting Jennifer Williams at (614) 716-2426 or Sean Handel at (419) 345-9634.

AEP Energy will release a shortlist of winning recipients in February, with official REP execution to come in Q2 2023.

As a competitive retail and wholesale electricity and natural gas supplier, AEP Energy serves more than 700,000 residential and business customers in 28 service territories in six states and Washington, D.C.

It also sells renewable energy through long-term contracts with utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and corporate customers. The business unit currently owns more than 1,900 MW of solar, wind, and energy storage on both a utility- and distributed-scale basis in 26 states.

Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power is a $48.3 billion market cap regulated utility with 5.5 million customers across 11 states.  Effective January 2023, AEP will have exited the Kentucky market through the recent sale of Kentucky Power to Liberty Utilities, an affiliate of Algonquin Power, for $2.64 billion.

Clean energy apprenticeship program to train and employ New Jersey residents  The utility to non-profit partnership initiative is aimed at creating 3,200 clean energy jobs in the NY-NJ tri-state area.

Nevada’s largest utility to deploy 440 MWh battery energy storage system  Construction of the Energy Vault BESS will begin Q2 2023 and expected to be operational by the end of year.

Energy storage fire, explosion, and safety training manual release IREC’s handbook contains energy storage installation codes, hardware standard, and lithium-ion risk mitigation tools.

Stellantis signs second largest corporate PPA on record for 400 MW of solar  The maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Jeep vehicles has committed the second largest corporate PPA after Ford.

Ranking the top 15 nations for solar energy capacity Ranking the world’s largest producers of solar energy based on the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022.

Free GenX model recommended for renewables advocates to conduct utility resource modeling  As trade groups and citizens’ groups advocate for low-cost renewables in state proceedings, they can make a stronger case by preparing their own utility resource plan, for example by using the free GenX model developed at MIT, says nonprofit group RMI.

New Jersey community solar landfill project to serve LMI residents The 10 MW BEMS community solar landfill project consists of two co-located systems that span two utility territories.

World to deploy as much renewable energy in the next five years as the last 20  The International Energy Agency said the world will increase its renewable energy capacity by 75% in the next five years.

CEP Renewables and CS Energy have begun construction of two co-located solar projects on the Big Hill Landfill in Southampton, N.J. Not only does the project convert previously unusable land to a clean energy generating asset, energy generated by the solar installation will serve low-to-moderate income (LMI) residents and enable the township to recoup 40 years of back taxes and interest. Construction of this project is expected to be complete by May 2023.

“We are excited to be able to build upon the success of our redevelopment project in Mount Olive, N.J. – the largest solar landfill project in North America, by utilizing a similar process with this project,” said Chris Ichter, Executive Vice President at CEP Renewables.

 Earlier this month, CEP Renewables and CS Energy announced the completion of what is reportedly the largest North America landfill solar project, at 25.6 MW(DC). According to New Jersey’s Environmental Protection website, the capped Mount Olive landfill is a 65-acre brownfield site that ceased accepting waste in 1981. The project involved the purchase of the landfill by way of the redevelopment and tax lien foreclosure process.  As a result, the project won the 2021 Award for Innovation in Governance from the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

The BEMS project was also purchased by way of the redevelopment and tax lien foreclosure process, which the companies report is a structure that was entirely unique before the Mount Olive project. The Big Hill landfill site in Southampton had been abandoned by its former owner, resulting in the site accruing millions of dollars in tax liens. As part of the public-private partnership between CEP and the Township of Southampton, CEP acquired the tax liens from the township, paying back all past-due taxes in the process, and foreclosed on the landfill property.

“We’re proud that CEP Renewables has selected us to provide our expertise for this impactful landfill solar project due to our proven ability to complete these challenging projects safely and cost effectively,” said Michael Dillon, director of operations at CS Energy. “We look forward to working alongside CEP Renewables to convert a previously unusable site into a solar generating field that will provide substantial environmental and financial benefits to this local community.”

Like the Mount Olive project, the Southampton project will use ballasted solar racking systems from Terrasmart.

This project represents just one of 16 landfill or brownfield projects that CEP currently has under development, and brings CEP’s New Jersey installations to over 100 MW, contributing to New Jersey’s ranking as the number one U.S. state for installed solar capacity per square mile, according to CEP, as well as for the most planned community solar capacity serving LMI households.

New Jersey investor-owned utility Public Service Enterprise Group partnered with non-profit Real World Academy (RWA) to train teenagers and adults for new jobs in the clean energy sector. Over the course of the initiative, about 3,200 direct jobs will be created, of which 2,000 will be produced directly through PSEG’s newly launched Clean Energy Jobs Program.

Based in Morristown, N.J., RWA is a social enterprise and nonprofit educational consulting group which began to train residents in underserved communities of the tri-state New York and New Jersey following the Covid-19 pandemic for hiring opportunities in the clean energy market.

For its part, PSEG  also sought to launch a jobs program post-pandemic in order to bolster the clean energy sector. The New Jersey utility’s Clean Energy (CE) Jobs Program was developed to meet the growing renewables sector by expanding opportunities for energy efficiency workforce diversity.

By launching its CE Programs in the New Jersey, PSEG’s concept was to partner with local nonprofits that provide professional development services and wrap-around support for any individual, unemployed or underemployed person.

RWA has worked with clients ranging from 13 to 55 years old.  About 34% of clients served have a household income of $20K to $40K, and another 34% have a household income of less than $20K.

Through its partnership with the NJ-STEP (New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons) Program, formerly incarcerated individuals (ex-offenders) have also been included in the clean energy program.

RWA’s partnership with Newark Workforce Development Board under its Newark Green Infrastructure Project allows the non-profit agency it to serve unemployed and dislocated workers.

“What RWA has known since its inception is that regardless of the demographic, all individuals need support in self-actualizing and understanding how to navigate the world around them in order to achieve whatever they define as success. RWA’s purpose is to provide this support,” said Lincoln Farquharson, chief executive officer of RWA and executive director of the PSEG partnership.

PSEG and RWA will be launching a new cohort in February 2023 which includes free virtual classes for any NJ resident over 18 years of age  on professional communication, finances, business etiquette, cover letter & resume writing, interviewing, and additional professional tips.

Those seeking support must register with RWA prior to February 1 to be eligible for the 2023 program.

Just last week, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) launched the Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) program, a new program designed to encourage grid scale solar generation in the Garden State.

The new CSI program has a goal of incentivizing at least 300 MW of solar annually until 2026. The program will be open to qualifying grid supply solar installations and non-residential net metered solar installations with a capacity greater than 5 MW, as well as to eligible grid supply solar installations in combination with energy storage.

New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy has committed to 100% clean energy by 2050 and at least 50% Class I Renewable Energy Credits by 2030.

“Our growing solar program, which not only includes CSI and [Administratively Determined Incentive] ADI, but also Community Solar, is one of the core programs in achieving Governor Murphy’s goal of a 100%  clean energy future,” said Joseph L. Fiordaliso, president of NJBPU.

Prior to the utility-scale program’s launch, New Jersey already ranked eighth in the nation for solar development after achieving 4 GW of deployments over the last year, enough clean energy to power 662,947 homes.

As of Q2 22, the Solar Energy Industries Association states 6,237 employees work in the New Jersey solar market, with 70 manufacturers and 203 installers and development companies operating in the state.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) established the Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) program, a new program designed to encourage grid scale solar generation in the Garden State. CSI is a key part of the state’s Successor Solar Incentive initiative (SuSI), which was enacted by the board in 2021, and is expected to significantly increase the state’s solar program at a lower cost for ratepayers. The order states that the goal of the program is to “continue the fight against climate change by increasing the supply of electricity that New Jersey consumers receive from clean solar energy and to bring down the costs of solar generation in the state.

The new CSI program has a goal of incentivizing at least 300 MW of solar annually until 2026. The program will be open to qualifying grid supply solar installations and non-residential net metered solar installations with a capacity greater than 5 MW, as well as to eligible grid supply solar installations in combination with energy storage.

New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy has committed to 100% clean energy by 2050 and at least 50% Class I Renewable Energy Credits by 2030.

“The CSI program is a vital component of our new SuSI program and will play a major part in helping us meet our solar goals while decreasing costs to ratepayers,” said Joseph L. Fiordaliso, president of NJBPU. “Our growing solar program, which not only includes CSI and [Administratively Determined Incentive] ADI but also Community Solar, is one of the core programs in achieving Governor Murphy’s goal of a 100%  clean energy future.”

Over 6,000 people work in the solar industry in New Jersey, a state that currently has 4 GW of solar installed, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

“SEIA is pleased that the BPU took significant parts of the solar industry’s comments into account in its final design of the Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) program,” said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state and regulatory affairs for SEIA. “The guidelines released today establish a competitive solicitation process for 300 megawatts (MW) of annual large-scale solar development in New Jersey, as well as targeted procurement of 160 MWh of energy storage paired with grid-scale solar per year.”

The order states that, “While the economic and environmental benefits of New Jersey’s first 4 GW of solar have been significant, the combined effect of the SuSI Program is expected to have an even larger impact.”

The new program structure has separate categories, or tranches, to ensure that a range of solar project types, including those on preferred sites, are able to participate despite potentially different project cost profiles. The board approved four tranches for grid supply and large net metered solar and an additional fifth tranche for storage in combination with grid supply solar.

After receiving an award in the solicitation, CSI projects will have three years to come on-line. The CSI program design has siting requirements that apply to all projects in the program, regardless of whether they actually seek an incentive. These requirements follow stipulations laid out in the Solar Act of 2021 and establish construction requirements designed to uphold the mandate to “minimize, as much as is practicable, potential adverse environmental impacts.”

“The structuring of the CSI program will ensure that a range of competitive solar project types can participate, despite potentially different project cost profiles,” said Gallagher. “SEIA and its members are evaluating the program’s construction and siting requirements, including new standards for pollinator-friendly ground-mounted projects and various land development restrictions. Establishing a workable siting process is critical for the solar industry to achieve the CSI program’s goal for 1,500 MW of large-scale solar capacity by the end of the decade.”

Solicitations will take place annually, and all projects that meet pre-qualification requirements will compete on price only. The first solicitation is scheduled to take place early 2023, with bids due on March 31, 2023.

In addition to CSI, the SuSI program consists of the ADI program, which set incentives for net-metered residential projects, net-metered non-residential projects of 5 MW or less, and community solar projects.

Once fully implemented, the Order states that the new SuSI Program “will be an important part of New Jersey’s continued national leadership in the battle against climate change and cement the State of New Jersey as a magnet for green jobs”.

CEP Renewables and CS Energy announced the completion of what is reportedly the largest North America landfill solar project, in Mount Olive, NJ, at 25.6 MW(DC).

Located at the former Combe Fille North Landfill Superfund site, the large brownfield solar project will provide the township of Mount Olive with close to $2.3 million in past tax revenues while creating a future revenue-generating renewable energy asset.

With 10,000 closed landfill sites in the U.S., there has been an 80% increase in the number of landfill solar project developments at brownfield sites in recent years, according to the EPA.

“This is our eighth project with CEP Renewables, our seventh project with Lindsay Precast and our fourteenth landfill solar project with Terrasmart. Our strong partnerships with each of these industry leaders also enabled us to efficiently deliver this high quality landfill solar project, which will provide significant financial and environmental benefits to this community long-term,” said Mike Dillon, director of operations at CS Energy.

According to New Jersey’s Environmental Protection website, the capped Mount Olive landfill is a 65-acre brownfield site that ceased accepting waste in 1981.

The project was developed by CEP Renewables and CS Energy. Lindsay Precast supplied steel skids for the project and Terrasmart supplied its Glide fixed-tilt, ballasted mounted rack systems.

NJR Clean Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of investor-owned utility New Jersey Resources, will own and operate the solar facility under a long-term agreement.

Besides its size and local tax benefits, the Mount Olive project is noteworthy because it involved the purchase of the landfill by way of the redevelopment and tax lien foreclosure process.  As a result, the project won the 2021 Award for Innovation in Governance from the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

Under New Jersey’s 2019 Energy Master Plan, the Garden State outlined a goal of producing 100% renewable energy assets by 2050 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2006 levels.  The state identified 30 prospective and development-stage brownfield landfill solar sites at the time of the master plan.

CEP Renewables has constructed 141.5 MW of solar projects to date in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  Mount Olive is the company’s second New Jersey landfill solar project after the 13 MW South Brunswick project was installed in mid-2018.

CS Energy, an American Securities portfolio company, has installed about 180.1 MW of landfill solar projects to date around the Northeast U.S. out of a 1.5 GW operational solar portfolio.

Landfill solar

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) developed a comprehensive report, “The Future of Landfills is Bright,” designed for elected officials, policymakers, planners, and developers, to learn how landfill solar can be part of a broader clean energy and land-use strategy to achieve ambitious community-wide climate, sustainability, and environmental justice goals.

RMI said there are more than 10,000 closed and inactive landfills across the country. It said more than 63 GW of solar power plant capacity could be located at less than half of US landfills, generating 83 terawatt hours of electricity each year across all 50 states. The plants also could generate more than $6.6 billion annually in electricity revenue. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, around 428 MW of utility-scale landfill solar across 126 projects had been installed at the end of 2019. Notably, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York are home to 73% of all US utility-scale landfill solar projects.

Ecogy Energy, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based commercial solar developer, announced that the construction of a 120.1 kW rooftop solar system for the Red Cross in Tinton Falls, N.J. The installation will make the building net zero.

The Red Cross New Jersey region will reduce its own electricity needs, while also helping New Jersey reach its decarbonization goal of procuring 50% of its energy from renewable generation by 2030.

The solar array will provide on-site power for use by the nonprofit, while a future solar facility will utilize a community solar project located at an off-site location that will provide local subscription access to residents of the township.

The Red Cross’ first rooftop system will produce roughly 2.7 GWh of electricity over the next 20 years, the equivalent of powering 19 homes.

“The savings generated by building this solar system atop our roof will allow us to commit even more resources to providing quality support to communities and families in need,” said Rosie Taravella, regional chief executive officer of American Red Cross New Jersey Region. “As a humanitarian organization that serves families and communities impacted by climate disasters, our goal is to minimize our own environmental footprint.”

Ecogy will sell the power produced by the system back to the Red Cross through a power purchase agreement. In exchange, Ecogy will retain the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) generated for each MW of solar energy produced.

Formed in 2010, Ecogy develops distributed generation and community solar projects for small businesses, non-profits, municipal entities and places of worship in about 11 Eastern states, the District of Columbia and Caribbean market.

In April 2021, the American Red Cross made a climate pledge to lower its carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy systems across its operations network and assist in the production of clean energy assets in communities affected by climate change.