Holt Logistics has announced it will work in partnership with SunPower Corp to build the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic installation in North America at Holt’s Gloucester Marine Terminal in New Jersey.
The massive 1.1 million square-foot system will be installed on Terminal’s refrigerated warehouse near the Walt Whitman Bridge and will utilise 27,528 SunPower solar panels, producing nine megawatts (MW) of clean energy – enough to power 1500 homes. Upon completion later this year, the Gloucester installation will supply the equivalent of nearly 80 percent of the Terminal’s power demand and offset more than 9,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
“At nine megawatts, this is a milestone solar installation made possible with SunPower’s high-efficiency panels and T5 Solar Roof Tile System,” said Tom Leyden, managing director at SunPower. “By hosting this system, Holt Logistics will reliably maximize its savings on electricity costs at the Terminal over the next 25 years or more.”
Earlier this month, New Jersey released a draft action plan aimed at reducing rates for electricity, promoting energy efficiency and implementing more solar energy projects in the state.
The Gloucester Terminal solar project, known as Riverside Renewable Energy, LLC, will cost investors $42 million, an outlay that provides proof of the strength of the renewable energy market in New Jersey says Lee Solomon, President of the N.J. Board of Public Utilities.
“It is also consistent with the policy set forth in the recently released 2011 draft Energy Master Plan, which calls for photovoltaic solar arrays on commercial and industrial properties to lower their utility bills, improving competitiveness and reducing demands upon the electric grid.”
The US government offers federal Tax Credits as well as Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs); designed to foster growth in the national renewable energy sector . The sale of these credits, combined with New Jersey’s progressive Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) provide for the long-term viability of large-scale solar projects such as the Riverside installation.
