PSE&G to install solar energy units in several local towns

As part of its “Solar 4 All” program, PSE&G will be installing more than 200,000 pole-attached solar energy units in its service territory.

PSE&G will be installing pole-attached solar panels such as this one in local towns. The electricity generated by the units will be connected directly into the utility’s electricity distribution system. MARK LOVRETIN/PSEG The solar panels will be installed in New Jersey’s six largest cities and in approximately 300 rural and suburban communities.

Starting in late July, PSE&G contractors Riggs Distler & Co. will be installing solar panels in Edison, East Brunswick, Milltown, Monroe and South River. The units will be placed on utility poles and street lights along main streets near area businesses and in residential neighborhoods. When the project is complete, these towns will be part of the largest pole-attached solar installation in the world.

“The solar panels bring the benefit of clean, renewable energy to all our customers, and the electricity generated from them helps us combat climate change,” said Al Matos, vice president for renewables and energy solutions for PSE&G. “The units are being installed in a safe, reliable manner consistent with our normal practices.”

In July 2009, PSE&G received regulatory approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to invest $515 million in solar projects. In addition to the 40- megawatt pole-attached segment, a second segment will provide centralized solar, with PSE&G developing solar gardens and rooftop installations on facilities it owns and also at third-party-owned sites. The utility expects to complete the installations by the end of 2013.

“This new initiative will effectively double the size of New Jersey’s installed solar capacity,” said Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G. “That is more solar capacity than exists in any state other than California. This latest program is an important step in PSE&G’s commitment to promote energy efficiency, develop renewables, reduce greenhouse gases and create new green jobs.”

The electricity generated by the units will be connected directly into PSE&G’s electricity distribution system. The utility will receive federal tax credits and solar renewable energy credits for this renewable generation, and PSE&G indicated that the benefits will be returned to ratepayers.

For more information, visit www.pseg.com/solar4all.