Solar power in New Jersey

Intermediate school with both rooftop and ground-mount solar panels in Delran, New Jersey

New Jersey has over 4,700 MW of installed solar power capacity as of January 2024,[1] which provides more than 7% of the state's electricity consumption.[2] The's state's growth of solar power is aided by a renewable portfolio standard that requires that 22.5% of New Jersey's electricity come from renewable resources by 2021 and 50% by 2030, by incentives provided for generation of solar power, and by one of the most favorable net metering standards in the country, allowing customers of any size array to use net metering, although generation may not exceed annual demand. As of 2018, New Jersey has the sixth-largest installed solar capacity of all U.S. states and the largest installed solar capacity of the Northeastern States.[3]

New Jersey has historically been aggressive in installing solar power, at one point being the second largest solar state in the U.S. with 306.1 megawatts of installed solar power in 2011, which was a 131% increase over the 132.4 megawatts installed in 2010. In 2010, New Jersey became the second state, after California, to install over 100 MW in a single year.[4] The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities administers incentive programs that support the development of the state's solar industry. As of January 2024, over 194,000 solar photovoltaic systems have been installed, with 4,765 MW of capacity.[1] Net-metered projects make up 80% of the installed capacity, 191 grid-supply projects make up 17% of capacity, and 102 community solar projects are 3% of capacity.[1]

New Jersey has 696 schools with 212 MW of solar power installed as of the end of 2023, the second most after California.[5]

  1. ^ a b c "Solar Activity Reports | NJ OCE Web Site". njcleanenergy.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  2. ^ "New Jersey Solar". www.seia.org. 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Solar Industry Research Data". Solar Energy Industries Association. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. ^ Secondary U.S. Markets For Solar Power Are Continuing to Grow Archived 2011-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. K-12 Schools" (PDF). Generation180. August 2024.