New Jersey Hosts Large Solar Power System

May 03, 2003

Arial view of oil terminal opposite on the New Jersey shore of the Delaware River opposite Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the background.

BP will use solar energy to meet almost a third of the power needs for environmental remediation at this oil shipment terminal in Paulsboro, New Jersey. Credit BP Solar

BP Solar inaugurated the largest PV system on the East Coast on April 25th in Paulsboro, New Jersey. Rated at 275 kW, the PV system consists of 5,880 panels and occupies four acres on a specialty chemical storage and distribution facility located south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. It will generate an estimated 350,000 kWh per year, or about 30% of the power BP needs to run environmental remediation equipment at the site.

At the inauguration, New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine said, "This solar field represents a step forward for both our economy and our environment."

BP received some funding from the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, which provides rebates for PV and other clean energy systems using funding from a systems benefits charge contributed by the state's utility ratepayers. The Virginia Alliance for Solar Energy (VASE) also contributed to the project. VASE is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster solar projects in the Mid-Atlantic region; it is managed by the Energy Division of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. For more information about the solar field, see BP's April 29th news release.