PSE&G recently put two new landfill solar farms in service as part of the utility's Solar 4 All program. The 10.14 MW-dc Parklands Solar Farm in Bordentown, NJ and the 11.18 MW-dc Kinsley Solar Farm in Deptford, NJ were brought online in late-December 2014 and will supply enough grid-connected solar electricity to power about 3,500 average-size homes annually.
These are the two largest centralized solar projects built to date by PSE&G, creating a portfolio of 26 solar farms and 174,000 pole-attached solar units that supply more than 101 MW-dc of electricity. PSE&G has now built seven of its 26 solar farms on either a landfill or a brownfield site. With the addition of the Parkland and Kinsley projects, PSE&G becomes capable of generating more than 31MW-dc of solar power, an amount that is enough solar power to supply more than 5,000 homes annually.
"Utilizing landfills like Kinsley and Parklands allows us to provide grid-connected renewable energy to our electric customers, increase the amount of solar generation in the state and also give new purpose to land that would otherwise have very limited opportunities for development," said Joe Forline, vice president, customer solutions for PSE&G.
The Parklands Solar Farm transforms 40 acres of landfill space into a solar generation powerhouse by installing 33,402 solar panels, while the Kinsley Solar Farm fills 35 acres of unused landfill space with 36,841 solar panels. The solar panels generate enough electricity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 15,000 tons annually.
"Solar farms are a part of New Jersey's future so it's great to see PSE&G making these investments," said New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney. "Landfill solar projects are good for our state's environment, for public health and for the economy because they create jobs in the growing clean energy sector and protect the public health and the environment by reducing carbon emissions."
Since 2009, PSE&G has invested more than USD$515 million in its Solar 4 All program, creating more than 1,600 jobs. The program is a 125 MW-dc program that utilizes rooftops, parking lots, solar farms, utility poles and landfills/brownfields for large-scale, grid-connected solar projects. The Parklands and Kinsley Solar Farms are the first built as part of the 45 MW-dc extension to the Solar 4 All effort that was approved in May, 2013 by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The BPU approved the first 80 MW-dc of Solar 4 All in July 2009.