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Apr 24 - The Record - Hackensack, New Jersey
New Jersey's $140 million investment in its Clean Energy Program last year saved enough electricity to power 50,000 homes and enough natural gas to heat 6,100 homes, the Board of Public Utilities said. In addition, the statewide program helped finance projects that should produce even bigger energy savings in the future, the BPU said in its 2005 Annual Report for New Jersey's Clean Energy Program released Friday. The statewide program, which is funded through small surcharges on utility bills, is designed to help customers save energy and protect the environment by installing clean, efficient energy technologies. Last year the program provided incentives to residential customers, businesses, schools and municipalities. "Over the last decade, New Jersey's energy needs have grown three times faster than the state's population," said BPU President Jeanne Fox. With the Clean Energy Program, New Jersey "has established itself as a national model for initiatives that provide low-income assistance, increased efficiency, and spur market development for new technologies like solar photovoltaics." Among the year's highlights: -- The state's solar market grew significantly for the second consecutive year, and it achieved a major milestone with the installation of its 1,000th photovoltaic system early this year. As recently as 2001, there were only six solar electric systems installed. -- New Jersey's first major wind generator opened on the site of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority in December. -- 27,510 residential customers received rebates for the purchase of high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment. -- 8,009 new homes were built and certified to New Jersey Energy Star Home standards, representing more than 20 percent of all new homes built in the state. -- More than 1.2 million high-efficiency compact fluorescent bulbs and fixtures were distributed through New Jersey retailers. -- 6,403 low-income homes received energy efficiency improvements at no cost to the customer. -- Rebates were paid for 2,387 commercial energy efficiency projects. -- 496 schools, businesses and residents installed solar electric or other renewable energy systems. -- 4,850 trees were planted through the Cool Cities program managed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection. In all, the Clean Energy Program generated 382,845 megawatt hours (MWh) of annual electricity savings, 617,261 decatherms (Dtherms) of natural gas savings and helped finance 29,136 MWh of electricity from clean, renewable sources of energy. In addition, commitments of $210 million were made for projects to be completed in the next two years that will produce additional annual savings of 162,993 MWh, 935,822 Dtherms and 142,953 MWh of renewable generation. The complete report is available online at njcleanenergy.com. ----- To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NorthJersey.com . Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. |