READINGTON — Several solar projects are rising at Central Jersey businesses as state and federal incentive programs help cover their costs.
The projects are a way for businesses to cut energy costs, said Jim Lacanna, business management developer for Global NES, a North Brunswick-based solar energy consulting company. That could mean more jobs in New Jersey — for those working at the cost-saving companies and those installing solar panels, as well as a cleaner environment as companies use their own energy instead of relying on fossil fuels.
New Jersey has more solar panels per square mile than any other U.S. state, Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Joe Fiordaliso said. Now, with subsidies such as rebates and credits, solar energy is becoming a possibility for more business owners, large and small. Renewable energy sources such as solar panels will help pave the way to a better environment, he said.
Solar panels, which tend to have a high set-up cost, might make more sense for businesses, which typically use more power than residences, said Michael Kerwin, president of the Somerset County Business Partnership. The payoff for solar panels on businesses may be a few years versus more than a decade for some households.
“You cannot do a solar project without some kind of subsidy. The trick is how to get there?” Kerwin said. “At the end of the day, you have to go through the analysis and ask yourself, “Does this make economic sense?’ ”
Readington River Buffalo Farm, off (Hunterdon) County Route 523, recently secured several solar panels to the side of a barn that protects John Deere tractors and other equipment. Now the farm has the power to harvest the sun, which will provide 100 percent of the farm’s energy.
“We are trying reduce our footprint and only leave a finger print,” Scarlett Doyle said about producing the farm’s 40,000 kilowatt hours of energy from the sun.
Readington River Buffalo Farm’s project cost approximately $275,000, said Jerry Doyle, who owns the 300-acre preserved farm with his wife, Scarlett and son Eric. In addition to the credits and rebates, the Doyles are applying the $600 they had been spending monthly on electric costs to repay the loan for the system, Jerry Doyle said. But once the loan is paid off — in five years — the price of the sun – unlike oil and gas – will be free.