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