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Dow Jones Plans Solar Installation at Corporate Campus

GetSolar Staff.

21, June. 2010 21:49

Financial news publishing company Dow Jones will soon have one of the country's biggest solar arrays at a corporate site.

The firm is building a 4.1-megawatt solar-power system at its South Brunswick, New Jersey corporate office. The project - which consists of 3.6 megawatts of parking-lot mounted solar panels and a 522-kilowatt rooftop installation - is being financed with the help of PSE&G's Solar Loan Program.

The program, available to homeowners, businesses and towns in PSE&G's service area, offers a novel way to finance solar projects. New Jersey mandates that utilities buy power from alternative-energy sources, and they can do so by purchasing solar renewable energy credits, or SRECs, from those who generate solar energy. The Solar Loan Program lets borrowers repay their loans by selling SRECs to PSE&G.

Not only is Dow Jones financing its solar array affordably, it's accruing a number of benefits from going solar. The solar-power system, company vice president for general administrative services Andy Schwartzberg said, will "reduce waste, protect the environment and trim expenses."

More companies are discovering the benefits of solar power - and with myriad financing options available, it's easier than ever to go solar.

PSE&G - Solar Loan Program

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Last DSIRE Review: 12/11/2009

Program Overview:

State:	New Jersey
Incentive Type:	Utility Loan Program
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:	Photovoltaics
Applicable Sectors:	Commercial, Industrial, Residential, Nonprofit, Schools, Local Government, State Government, Multi-Family Residential, Institutional
Amount:	not specified
Maximum Incentive:	not specified
Terms:	Rate: Residential (6.5%); Non-Residential (11.3092%) Repayment: Residential (10 years); Non Residential (15 years)
Web Site:	http://www.pseg.com/customer/solar/index.jsp

Summary:

Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) of New Jersey offers loans for "behind the meter" photovoltaic (PV) systems to all customer classes in its electric service territory. The program opened in April 2008 with a goal of installing 30 megawatts (MW) of customer-sited PV through the issuance of loans totaling $105 million. The initial program, termed Solar Loan I, was operating with a waiting list by July 2009 and a new program (Solar Loan II) was opened in December 2009 to provide additional loans of $143 million with a goal of supporting a further 51 MW of capacity.  

The program will provide loans covering 40-60% of the cost of PV systems with the remainder to be financed separately by the customer. A loan term of 15 years is available to non-residential customers at an interest rate of 11.3092%. Residential customers are eligible for a loan term of 10 years at a 6.5% interest rate. The actual maximum loan amount is based on how much energy they system is expected to produce over the term of the loan. The program website contains a loan calculator tool for this purpose. Loans are only available to systems of 500 kilowatts (kW) DC or less that are eligible for net metering and to generate Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) under state rules.  

Customers may repay the loan through cash payments or by signing over their SRECs to PSE&G. An SREC is equivalent to 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of solar electric generation under the state trading system. The value of an SREC will vary according to market conditions, but may not fall below a basement price which varies by sector and system size, and declines over time. The basement price is set initially at $450 per SREC for residential systems; $410 per SREC for non-residential systems up to 150 kW; and $380 per SREC for non-residential systems larger than 150 kW. The floor prices are scheduled to decline every two quarters (semi-annually) to ultimate levels of between $330 to $400 per SREC for different sectors and system sizes.