Installed at county municipal facilities at a capital cost of $3.5 million, the projects were completed at no expense to Bergen County taxpayers, and will generate approximately 850,000 kilowatt hours each year.
Installed by renewable energy installation contractor Pfister Energy, the project allows Bergen County to purchase electricity at a discounted price. Over a 15-year period, the county is guaranteed savings of approximately $250,000, and as much as an additional $1 million if utility prices continue increasing at historic rates.
Under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), SunLight General financed and owns the solar electric generating projects — a rooftop facility at the Prosecutor's Office in Paramus, NJ and a large and innovative parking canopy structure at the County Seat of Government in Hackensack, NJ — and will provide clean, renewable energy to Bergen County, at prices substantially lower than the utility rates.
"With the installation of these projects completed, Bergen County will begin reaping the benefits of this cost effective and environmentally responsible solution to its energy needs," stated Stacey Hughes, managing partner of SunLight General Capital.
"We are one of the only solar developers with in-house access to financing through our investment fund, SunLight General Solar Fund, and we were therefore able to deliver a timely and cost-effective proposal to Bergen County. Our mission is and will continue to be to promote environmental responsibility and energy independence, while at the same time offering significant cost savings to our public and private customers."
The Bergen County project is part of a large wave of solar installations being constructed to provide electricity to New Jersey municipalities. These projects benefit from New Jersey state laws to promote solar energy as well as federal stimulus money. New Jersey is at the forefront of the solar revolution in the United States, and more solar capacity is currently being installed each month in New Jersey than any other state, including California.
"In addition to immediate savings on the power price, Bergen County will benefit from the certainty of known fixed priced escalation of the power cost, at a rate well below that of the utility," stated Edouard Klehe, another managing partner of SunLight General.
"After a public RFP, the County selected the partnership of SunLight General and Pfister Energy as they offered the best combination of proven expertise to finance, engineer, build, and complete this project in a timely manner, coupled with a proposal that offered the most significant savings to the taxpayers of the County."
Not only do these construction projects bring much-needed jobs to the state, but also the clean energy produced is comparable to saving 670 tons of carbon dioxide per year or 130 acres of forestland.
