Solar Landscape announced it has connected the first of its community solar projects to the grid in Neptune, New Jersey. It marks the second of 46 projects in the state approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in Year 2 of the Community Solar Energy Pilot Program.
The project is located on an Extra Space Storage facility, one of 10 New Jersey sites owned by the company that is hosting community solar projects with Solar Landscape.
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 can subscribe today to use solar energy generated on the Extra Space Storage facility rooftop at a guaranteed discount. New Jerseyans in hundreds of other towns across the state can also sign up to receive lower-cost solar energy soon from one of Solar Landscape’s 45 other community solar projects.
“We look forward to welcoming even more residents to community solar, and it’s especially gratifying when those residents are in our neighborhood,” said Shaun Keegan, CEO of Asbury Park-based Solar Landscape. “With the support of a commercial real estate leader like Extra Storage Space, we can provide cost-saving solar power to residents, many of whom thought they’d never be able to use solar energy. Just a year ago, we received approval on this project and now it’s providing a valuable benefit to the residents here; we look forward to energizing even more projects very soon.”
Extra Space Storage’s New Jersey community solar projects created local jobs for installers who placed solar panels across 800,000 sq. ft of rooftop. The portfolio will generate 6.5 MW of renewable energy to power more than 1,400 nearby homes, most of which are low- and moderate-income families.
Residents who subscribe to receive the power will save at least 21% guaranteed 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.
