New Jersey: A New Land of Community Solar Opportunities
/New Jersey: A New Land of Community Solar OpportunitiesJ
SJC and PowerMarket have partnered to offer JC Residents an opportunity to participate in one of four Community Solar Projects in North Jersey - SIGN UP NOW AND RECEIVE A $100 CASH GIFT CARD !
Submitted by Guest Blogger Amanda Colombo, Business Operations Analyst at PowerMarket
Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc (a commercial real estate enterprise) and PowerMarket (a community solar market leader) have partnered to bring some of the first community solar projects online right here in Northern New Jersey –three in Hudson county and one in Essex county. On top of that, there is an exciting partnership PowerMarket has formed with Sustainable JC, within Jersey City, to create awareness about community solar through educational outreach and to get people signed up! For the first time in NJ, everyone can participate in the clean energy revolution by joining community solar (and even lowering their monthly electricity bill).
What is community solar you might ask? Instead of installing solar panels on your roof, you take part in a larger solar array constructed in your community from which you and your neighbors all benefit from the clean energy that is generated. Because no roof or upfront costs are necessary to join, community solar provides a fair and just way for all community members to participate in the clean energy revolution. As you can see below, here is what a community solar farm can look like in your neighborhood:
Once subscribed, community solar credits (equivalent dollar cost savings) generated from your portion of the project would appear on your utility bill, i.e., a credit to your monthly utility bill. To benefit less served communities, we have committed to providing over 50% of savings to low income households. As a New Jersey resident, you can imagine how excited I am for NJ to be one of the leaders in the nation to roll out a Community Solar program!
Given the global pandemic, all outreach campaigns to join these projects in New Jersey will be done virtually. Thanks to our online marketplace, it is easy for potential subscribers to enter their utility and billing information as well as sign a participation agreement digitally. These four Hartz Mountain projects will be operational between September and December of this year, and we are starting to sign up interested subscribers now. This is an opportunity for communities to support clean renewable energy and see cost savings each month.
The first four projects PowerMarket has going online are in Jersey City, North Bergen, Newark, and Secaucus. The sign up is live here! Overall, we are looking for 1,300 total subscribers to fill the projects- with 51% of subscribers being Low to Moderate income subscribers (LMI). There are no fees to enter, no fees to leave, 15% savings off credits for LMI, and 10% savings for non-LMI and of course guaranteed savings each and every month.
Want to learn more about community solar? We’ve provided some frequently asked questions below. However, if you have a question that we haven’t answered, please feel free to contact the PowerMarket team at 800-253-4333 or adrian.varga@powermarket.io.
1. Who can participate in community solar?
In New Jersey, currently, anyone who pays a utility bill can participate in community solar. To participate in these 4 projects, you have to reside in Newark, Jersey City, North Bergen, Secaucus, or a neighboring municipality- but don’t worry, we’ll let you know if you qualify when you go to sign up!
2. How does billing work?
You would get your bill from PSE&G just as you have been and pay it like you normally would. The total gross amount of community solar credit shown on your utility bill will be adjusted through a two bill system, reflecting a net credit and savings for you on your monthly utility payments, i.e., you will be invoiced by PowerMarket for the difference in the total gross community solar credit on your utility bill and the discounted community solar credit amount based on your standing as a Non-LMI or LMI subscriber - 10% off for Non-LMI Subscribers and 15% off for LMI Subscribers.
As you can see in the example below, $115.57 was taken off this LMI subscriber’s electricity bill for the gross amount of community solar credits they earned that month, showing $138.73 total monthly charge from the utility company, which the utility customer will pay. This lowered their bill significantly, more than the allowable total billing credit afforded under this program (10% off for Non-LMI Subscribers and 15% off for LMI Subscribers) . To adjust that to reflect the proper net credit to the LMI Subscriber, they will receive a notification and invoice from PowerMarket showing the difference between the gross credit and the discount amount applied to the gross credit (10% off for Non-LMI Subscribers and 15% off for LMI Subscribers) to provide the proper net savings gain for them.
This example was at a 15% discount for a LMI Subscriber, so they will only pay PowerMarket $98.23 for this $115.57 worth of community solar credits, which is the difference between the gross amount of community solar credits shown on your bill and the legal discount amount afforded under the program. In the end, they will save $17.34 this month for being part of their local community solar project.
3. How do I get started?
You can get started HERE! PowerMarket is now offering a $100 cash gift card when you sign up from start to finish! You enter your utility information, billing, and sign a contract. There is no cost to join and no cost to leave the program. After approval from the utility, we allocate you a percentage of the project, and you’re subscribed! You’ll enjoy the benefits of saving every month plus supporting clean energy onto the local grid. Are you ready NJ?!
More information on Partner Organizations:
About Sustainable Jersey City:
Sustainable Jersey City is a catalyst organization whose mission is to educate, empower and activate community stakeholders, to make Jersey City NJ a more sustainable and resilient place to live and work. Our vision is for Jersey City to become the greenest, most sustainable and resilient city in New Jersey, with community stakeholders that are educated about and committed to environmental, economic and social justice. As part of the balanced urban ecology we are advocating for in Jersey City, we try to include the arts in our projects and activities as much as possible! We feel that artists can help us to evolve some of our sustainability strategies through a unique lens and welcome their participation at all of our events. After all, sustainability is a cultural conversation and artist activists often pave the way when society needs to change direction - that time is now!
SJC Charter: https://www.sustainablejc.org/sjccharter
About PowerMarket:
PowerMarket works to make clean energy more accessible, affordable, and ubiquitous through community solar. We are a recognized market leader in providing subscriber acquisition, management & billing services to the community solar industry. Based in New York City, we manage over 200 MW and 20,000 subscribers—ensuring they are seeing utility bill credits, savings and the environmental impact of their participation. In 2019 alone, we put over $300,000 back in the pockets of our community solar subscribers. We are an advocate for our subscribers and have rolled out many programs across the Northeast with Low to Moderate Income (LMI) carve outs to ensure benefits are equally distributed their communities. We are extremely excited about our New Jersey projects, as we will give the majority of subscriptions and benefits to Low to Moderate income families.
Company Website: https://powermarket.io
About Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc:
Hartz Solar is a subsidiary of Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc. Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc is one of the largest private owners of commercial real estate in the U.S. They have grown from a small start in 1966 to a large regional real estate enterprise. They own and operate a portfolio of more than 260 properties primarily in major East Coast markets, including New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Charlotte and Maryland. They also own and operate assets in Chicago, Austin and Seattle. In total, their portfolio comprises more than 45 million square feet of residential, office, hotel and industrial properties. They are staffed to build complex developments, quickly and economically with in-house architectural, construction, design, engineering, legal, marketing, leasing, property management and financial teams. Hartz Solar isn’t new to the solar industry considering an 8.5-megawatt ground-based solar array built in Hamilton, which began producing power at its Hartz Solar Hamilton facility in 2011.
NJ Community Solar Brochure from NJ Clean Energy Office
