Is New Jersey a Good Place for Solar?
It’s a valid question!
I mean, Jersey’s no Florida or Texas so would it be worth it to put up solar panels?
In this article, I’m not just going to answer that question. I’m going to show you why Jersey’s actually – believe it or not – one of the best states for solar in the U.S. And I’m basing this off facts.
Trust me, when I first started doing research on the “best states for solar”, I didn’t expect New Jersey to be on the list. But that quickly changed.
So, let’s take a look at why solar is a great way to lower your electric bills if you live in New Jersey.
New Jersey’s Booming Solar Industry
The first major factor to consider is New Jersey’s booming solar industry.
Today, over two million homes and businesses all over the U.S. use solar panels as a source of power, and that number grows every single day.
Those same numbers reflect in Jersey, with solar being the state’s fastest-growing source of renewable energy! And there are no signs of it slowing down.
As of mid-2018 (3 years ago) New Jersey had seen more than 95,000 solar installations. And, according to Wikipedia, New Jersey is a fantastic state to install solar:
“New Jersey has historically been aggressive in installing solar power” and In 2010, New Jersey became the second state, after California, to install over 100 MW of solar power generation in a single year, and it’s only increased since that time.
So what’s this all mean to you?
A booming solar industry means a few things for you, the potential solar buyer:
- Solar panel manufacturers are required to invest a certain amount of their profits into R&D to further develop and advance solar technology. So a booming solar industry means more efficient ways to produce solar panels and materials, which in turn makes them more affordable, more effective, and more reliable. In fact, that’s exactly what has been happening with the price for solar being well below what it costs to generate electricity through any other generation method.
- With a booming solar industry, New Jersey has seen more and more solar installation companies opening and starting to join the “solar movement”. No, that doesn’t just mean more people knocking on your door, it also means you’ve got more choices and the installers have higher competition, forcing them to increase customer service, improve quality, and most importantly offer competitive prices for installations.
- Solar incentives! Did you know that New Jersey state wants you to go solar? With renewable-energy targets that local utilities have to comply with, if you switch to solar you will have federal and state incentives and tax credits available to you which make the funding of your solar project a whole lot easier, and by that I mean like 26% easier (as of 2021).
Nevertheless, investing in a solar installation is an important investment and it’s important to do your homework. So let’s continue looking at why New Jersey is a great place to install solar.
Is Solar Power Cost Effective in New Jersey?
One of the first things you’ll need to review when deciding if solar is a good option is to look at how much you are currently spending on electricity in a year.
Your electric bill can vary month to month depending on the price of electricity and how much electricity you use.
Depending on the season and the supply and demand for electricity, sometimes your utility can charge quite a lot of electricity. This is where solar can help save you a lot of money.
Whereas utilities often change their rates or increase them, the solar industry has consistently decreased the cost of electricity produced by solar panels almost every single year for the last decade or more. So, on one side you have the utility consistently increasing their rates, and on the other, electricity created by solar panels consistently costing less and less.
Here’s a quick calculation to explain what I mean:
The average cost per Kilowatt Hour in New Jersey is 13 cents, compared to New York’s 14 cents or California’s 15 cents.
A kilowatt-hour is simply a unit of electricity that your local utility uses to measure how much electricity you use, and how much your electric bill is at the end of the month, based on how many kilowatt-hours or KWH you’ve used. For more information read, What is a Kilowatt Hour?
According to a report done by a company called Solar Reviews:
The levelized cost of power from this typical solar PV system installed on a home in New Jersey over 25 years is 3.5 cents/kWh.
That means, if you’re currently paying more than 3.5 cents per KWH from your local utility, a solar installation will help you save a lot of money.
Does New Jersey Receive Enough Sun for Solar Power?
Another very important factor to look at when calculating the cost-effectiveness of solar power for your home in New Jersey is to look at how much direct sunlight your property receives.
I will clarify this last statement by saying that even if the sun does not directly shine on your panels, they will still produce electricity. In fact, your solar panels will continue to produce electricity even on a cloudy day since they depend on rays for their energy, not sunshine.
Nevertheless, a good amount of direct sunlight will help you create more electricity with less panels and ultimately reduce the costs of your solar panel installation.
To help determine this, us solar installers use a term called “peak sunlight”. Peak sunlight tells us how many hours of optimal sunlight or rather, how much solar energy, is available in your area or your home in a typical day.
A peak sun hour is typically 1,000 watts per square meter.
On average, U.S. cities receive between 3-4 peak sun hours a day. Of course other states, such as California, Texas, and Florida, can hit up to 7 and 8 hours of peak sun, but on average. States received between 3 and 4 hours.
The state of New Jersey has an average of 4.21 peak sun hours per a day when looking at the average of both summer and winter values.
This means New Jersey has a higher than average peak sunlight timing.
At Bio Developing, when we design a solar panel installation for your home, we use satellite information to zone in your property and not only measure how many hours of peak sun your property receives in a day, month, and year, but we can also pinpoint the areas on your roof, or property, that receive the most amount of sunlight allowing us to see where the panels would be most effective and where they should be placed.
Does New Jersey Have Good Solar Incentives?
As mentioned earlier, one of the advantages of going solar in New Jersey is the tax rebates and incentives.
Both change on a yearly basis, so be sure to ask your solar consultant or accountant what tax rebates and incentives are available to you.
Federal solar tax credits, and incentives specific to the state of New Jersey, make going solar a lot easier and more affordable.
As of right now, the state of New Jersey has a nationwide ranking of 14 when it comes to solar rebates.
The Benefits of Solar Power in New Jersey
Apart from the fact New Jersey has great tax credits and incentives, that it receives more peak sun hours than most U.S. states, that it’s solar industry is booming, and that the cost of solar is far less than what the utilities charge for electricity, here are the four main benefits that come from installing solar in New Jersey.
1. Every year the utilities in New Jersey increase the price of their electric rates. Installing solar gives you protection against these increasing rates.
2. The cost of installing solar panels is on the other hand continually falling, as technology is advancing.
3. Solar panels increase property value.
4. Once you’ve paid off the original investment for going solar, your energy will be completely free.
Conclusion
There has never been a better time to install solar in New Jersey, nor has there ever been a better way to reduce your electric bill, while producing your own energy, and preventing harmful pollution for the planet.
The cost of going solar has drastically decreased, while product quality, efficiency, and reliability have greatly increased.
And, government incentives and New Jersey’s sunlight, make it a great state to install solar panels!
With grid electricity rates increasing, and you being able to produce your own electricity at 3.5 cents, a fraction of the costs, ROI on a solar investment can be seen within the first 7-8 years, while you will immediately start saving from DAY ONE.
So, what are you waiting for?
Article by
Rebecca Samson
Editor, Bio Development
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