In solar power, N.J. shines
May 17 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
If NFI Industries' calculations are right, the three acres of solar
panels just installed on the roof of its Cherry Hill headquarters will
save $750,000 in energy costs over 15 years and become a green feather
in its cap. The 1.32-megawatt project could also be a launchpad.
It is the first renewable development designed and installed by NFI
Solar, a new division in the 77-year-old trucking and logistics company,
which the Brown family started as a coal-hauling operation in North
Jersey.
Still family-owned, NFI expanded to include construction, international
shipping, and warehousing. Jordan Brown, the fourth generation, is
leading an effort to put large solar power systems on some of the 18
million square feet of commercial buildings it owns or operates
nationwide, about a third of them in New Jersey. He and partner Mitch
Trellis want to help clients do the same.
Brown said the initiative was critical to keep NFI relevant and reduce
the climate impact of its 2,200 trucks on the road.
"We want to make sure there is a fifth, sixth, and seventh
generation," he said.
His plans reflect a boom in commercial solar power in New Jersey.
Because of its successful rebate and incentive programs, the state has
more solar electricity -- 128 megawatts as of December -- than any other
state but California, and was second in installations last year.
Two factors helped. The federal government is offering a 30 percent cash
grant for commercial installations through the end of the year, when it
will convert to a tax credit. And people are beginning to trust New
Jersey's market-driven incentive, said Larry Sherwood, an analyst with
the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
Under a program that started in 2007 but "hit its stride" last year,
Sherwood said, owners of solar generation can sell credits at auction --
one for every megawatt produced -- to utilities that are required to
invest in renewable energy.
Brown said the credits could provide as much as a 50 percent return on
the Cherry Hill project.
With help from the grant and the credits, a 1.7 megawatt rooftop
installation under way at a Dietz & Watson distribution center in
Delanco will be paid for in eight years instead of 32, chief operating
officer Chris Eni said.
Absolutely Energized Solar in Millstone Township, N.J., an eight-year
industry veteran, is handling the installation there. President Dan
Lichtman said he expected to be booked for the year within two weeks,
and to install about 6 megawatts this year, nearly twice 2009's total.
Sea Box, an Cinnaminson manufacturer of shipping containers, hopes to
start construction on 2 megawatts of generation, an investment of up to
$10 million, before the December federal grant deadline.
International Rollforms, a metal manufacturer in Sewell, has already
secured its grant with half a megawatt that came online last fall.
With so much movement in commercial solar, NFI Solar's Trellis last year
pitched the new endeavor to Brown, a college friend.
"We're very lucky that his family has the vision and the resources to
ramp this up very quickly," said Trellis, who previously worked for New
York environmental investment firm RNK Capital.
NFI Solar is now looking to put panels on top of a warehouse owned by an
NFI subsidiary in Vineland, N.J., and is pursuing utility-scale
projects, too.
The company has submitted bids to provide between 2 and 4 megawatts of
power to the Vineland Municipal Electric Utility with panels built on
NFI property. And it is seeking local approvals for 8 megawatts on
company land in Oldsman Township, N.J., to supply an abutting industrial
park.
NFI Solar is focused in New Jersey because of the state's incentives,
but with rooftops and commercial land across the country, it is in a
position to take advantage of programs as states put them in place,
Trellis said.
The company, Brown said, "is in this business for the long haul."
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Contact staff writer Chelsea Conaboy at 856-779-3893 or cconaboy@phillynews.com.
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