Solar energy firms take advantage of NJ solar energy climate

Solar opportunities are shining down on NJ homeowners as the state continues to be one of the best places in the country for homeowners to invest in clean and efficient solar power.

Solar & More, located at 598 Route 23 North in Pompton Plains, is a new local solar company and store which will sell, design, finance, install and maintain solar electric, solar heat and hot water, and geo-thermal and cooling systems to residential and commercial customers, in addition to selling many energy-efficient products.

At the end of the year, two key federal initiatives are due to expire — a federal grant that covers 30 percent of the installation cost of a solar-energy system and a 100-percent depreciation tax credit. While these programs may be extended by Congress, there is an urgency for solar projects to begin as systems need to have been started or installed by December 2011 for customers to benefit from both.

But while the future of some federal solar incentives may be uncertain, state rebates in New Jersey are still strong as more and more homes and businesses convert to solar, said Thomas Ferraro, president of Solar & More, a renewable energy company and new store in Pompton Plains. New Jersey is currently the number-one state for renewable energy incentives and is second only to California in the total installations of renewable energy in the entire country. The Garden State is also a national leader with its Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program, which allows home and business owners to sell clean energy credits back to utility companies.

Statistics from the state Board of Public Utilities show that New Jersey has seen a steady increase in solar installations from just three projects completed in the state in 2001 to 3,139 projects completed in 2010.

Read More: Solar energy firms take advantage of NJ’s pro-renewable energy climate