Source: http://www.plansmartnj.org/policy-briefing-nj-solar-energy-legislation/

The New Jersey solar market hit a new milestone this week when it eclipsed the 1 gigawatt (GW) mark for total installed solar electric capacity. According to a new study released by SEIA this week, New Jersey now ranks third in the nation for solar energy installations, thanks to declining system prices and support from the state’s policymakers including its robust net metering policies and the U.S.’ first Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program, an innovative market-based incentive for solar generation. U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA®) and GTM Research, found that New Jersey was responsible for nearly one-third of the nation’s non-residential solar installations last year. In total, more than 415 megawatts (MW) of solar was added to the state’s power grid in 2012, a 33 percent increase over 2011 (313 MW). New Jersey’s solar industry is now providing both in-state jobs- on the order of more than 5,700- and much needed in-state electricity generation. Due in large part to the falling cost of solar for consumers, the market size of the U.S. solar industry grew 34 percent from $8.6 billion in 2011 to $11.5 billion in 2012. At of the end of 2012, there were 7,221 MW of PV and 546 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) online in the U.S. — enough to power 1.2 million homes. New Jersey is now the third state in the nation to hit the 1GW solar mark and is the third largest state solar market by MW of PV installed in 2012, behind California and Arizona.

Source: SEIA news release- New Jersey Solar Market Hits 1 Gigawatt Milestone

Source: http://www.getsolar.com/News/Solar-Energy-Facts/General/UPS-to-Install-Solar-Panels-in-New-Jersey-Facilities-389316

UPS (NYSE: UPS) has recently announced that the company has invested in two new solar projects at its New Jersey facilities, one in Parsippany and the other in Secaucus. These facilities showcase the business benefits of owning and operating sustainable energy systems and demonstrate the company’s commitment to increase the use of renewable energy resources in the U.S. and throughout the world. The Parsippany project was completed in the fall of 2012 and the Secaucus project is said to be finished this spring; both will be 1.2 megawatt facilities. The combined power of these projects is said to be equivalent to providing electricity for more than 300 homes annually. UPS will be using a direct ownership approach by developing, engineering, purchasing, and operating the solar panel arrays in-house. Differing from the typical model of outsourcing roof space for solar panels to a third party, UPS has revealed the best practices to produce a strong return on its investment in current and future developments. Technology improvements, lower prices for solar panel installation, and availability of government incentives has encouraged UPS to finance and build its own solar projects. The company’s approach of operating its own systems can also help community power grids by providing a hedge against possible energy price hikes during peak usage times.

New Jersey is a state with one of the nation’s most progressive solar energy policies and is currently second in the U.S. for total installed capacity of solar energy technology. The New York-Northern New Jersey area historically has high peak demand periods for kilowatt hours, especially during summer months. These facilities will help protect against these peak times because they will typically operate during off-peak hours, allowing a significant portion of the renewable energy to flow back to the grid in what is known as net metering. UPS has been investing in solar power development since 2004, when solar panels were installed on a facility in Palm Springs, California. Since, the company’s solar power development has also spread to its European regional air hub in Cologne, Germany.

UPS has taken the role of the end user. They have developed the project from start to finish, employing their own engineers, instead of relying on installer companies. SOLAR 2013 will have an added focus on end-users. If you are interested in learning more about this ideal, come to Baltimore from April 16-20! Learn more here.

Source: UPS News Release, UPS Expands Renewable Energy Output at New Jersey Facilities- Demonstrate Economically-Viable Solar Projects

GeoPeak- SunPower array on this New Jersey tennis club produces 500 SRECs annually

New Jersey’s generous solar renewable energy credit (SREC) program created such a boom in solar installations that the state surpassed California in new PV capacity during Q1 of 2012.

SRECs first reached the market in 2004, at about $160 (a SREC represents 1 megawatt-hour). Driven by an RPS solar carve-out target of 5,316 gigawatt-hours by 2026, utilities steadily bid up the market to an average of $616 in May, 2011, when the state had 311 megawatts of grid-connected PV capacity. A year later, capacity had reached 740 megawatts, significantly exceeding the interim target. The RPS SREC requirement for the year was 442,000, but the PV systems were theoretically capable of supplying upwards of 1 million (that is, 1 gigawatt-hour of solar electricity over the year).

The dramatic oversupply of SRECs led to a 75-percent drop in New Jersey SREC auction prices, from about $650 during most of 2011 to below $150 by May of 2012. As capacity neared interim RPS targets, utilities could see a ceiling on the number of SRECs they would need to buy in coming years.

The solar industry called on the state to raise that ceiling by raising the RPS, or bringing its interim targets up to earlier dates.

Last week, both houses of the state legislature passed – without debate – a compromise bill (S1925/A2966) accelerating RPS requirements by four years, and amending some of the SREC rules. Republican Governor Chris Christie, who endorsed the solar industry during his campaign, signed the bill on Monday.

In addition to the RPS expansion, the new regulations:

• Extend shelf life of a SREC from three years to five, giving SREC holders more flexibility to wait for better pricing.
• Reduces the solar alternative compliance payment (SACP), a fine levied on utilities unable to buy enough SRECs, to acknowledge the lower installed cost of PV.
• Creates incentives to build PV arrays on brownfields, and discourages them on productive farmland.
• Other provisions encourage aggregated net metering for public buildings and new transmission lines.

Also see this article.