Nov 13 - Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.



New Jersey is not just the Garden State, it is also a solar power state. Although most people would likely assume that a state better known for its sunshine -- such as Hawaii, Arizona or Nevada -- would place second to California in its use of solar energy, the reality is that New Jersey has become a solar energy model for the rest of the country. New Jersey offers generous rebates and tax credits to consumers and businesses to promote the use of renewable energy, and more people would be wise to take advantage of that.

According to a report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, New Jersey has 70 megawatts of grid-connected solar capacity, second only to California, with 528 megawatts. That is the result of New Jersey's effort to get 30 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. To that end, New Jersey is currently first in solar panel use per square mile.

Solar energy on the grid

PSE&G is generating more grid-connected solar energy, and making it available to its consumers. One person who has taken advantage of the solar power options provided by PSE&G is Lawrence Florio, a resident of Bloomfield and environmental law student at Rutgers University.

"It's important that we move to renewable energy sources and away from energy sources that make climate change even worse," said Florio. "In the long term, it will eventually be cheaper, and the state is helping to reach a point where that will be the case.

To install a solar panel system onto a residence might cost about $50,000. However, after state subsidies and tax credits are factored into the equation, the final cost drops about half for the initial installation. Thereafter, residents and corporations can benefit from the advantages that energy from a solar panel would bring: energy that is clean, generated on site and cost effective over the long run.

Admittedly, most New Jersey residents cannot afford to lay out the initial costs needed to install solar power in their homes, even after the rebates and tax credits. But for those residents and corporations that can afford it, they should certainly take advantage of it. Not only would doing so create long term benefits for them, it would also get the dominos falling in making the technology cheaper for others.

The pocket calculator once cost more than many personal computers do today. Now, however, everyone has access to that technology because it's become so much cheaper. The same will happen for solar technology, but only if people create a market for it now.

The future of clean energy

We should all be proud that the state has created programs that help initial demand. People around the country may look at New Jersey as a gloomy, overly industrial state. But it won't be long before they know us for what we really are: the future of clean energy and environmental protection.

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Ahmed Soliman's column appears Thursdays. Send comments about this column to The Record at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

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