Solar System Installed at New Jersey Security Center
On May 23, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs dedicated a 321-kilowatt (kW) solar electric power system atop the Homeland Security Center of Excellence in Lawrenceville, about 10 miles north of Trenton. The system is expected to save the department more than $90,000 annually in energy costs and reduce its use of conventionally generated power by more than 25 percent.
The system was installed by PowerLight, and features 1,648 modular solar panels tilted at a 10-degree angle to maximize energy output. It is expected to provide more than 351,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year and eliminate more than 7.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years. PowerLight says those results are equivalent to planting 1,110 acres of trees or not driving 9.6 million miles on New Jersey roadways.
The installation is the second rooftop solar system commissioned by New Jersey to help reduce operating costs. In 2005, PowerLight installed a 181-kW system on the Joint Training and Technology Development Center at Fort Dix. Together, these two systems represent the largest commitment to install solar power by a military agency on the East Coast.
PowerLight is a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, commercially available solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems. It is a subsidiary of SunPower Corp., which designs, manufactures, and markets solar electric technology worldwide. SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp.
For more information, see the May 23 PowerLight press release.
Source: May 24 story in Renewable Energy Access
To read more information about renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in New Jersey, see:
- New Jersey news published on the EERE Web site.
- Brief project descriptions from the New Jersey Energy Office published in the EERE State Energy Program newsletter, Conservation Update.
- New Jersey publications listed in the EERE State Publications Database.