PSEG starts work on its largest solar project, atop S. Jersey landfill

Public Service Electric & Gas Company has begun construction on its largest solar project to date, it said Tuesday.PSE&G is building an 11.18-megawatt direct current solar farm on top of the now-closed Kinsley Landfill in Deptford, the company said in a news release. This is the utility’s third project aimed at turning landfill space into clean-energy solar farms. Built on 35 acres of the 140-acre site, the Kinsley Solar Farm will generate enough electricity to power about 2,000 homes annually.

“Two clear goals of New Jersey’s energy policy are to support solar development in the state and maintain our scarce open space,” Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president and chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement. “Projects like this one at the Kinsley Landfill allow PSE&G to help New Jersey realize both goals. We are building enough grid-connected solar generation to power thousands of homes while reclaiming landfill space that has limited development opportunities.”

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The solar farm is expected to enter service by the spring of 2015, PSE&G said. The project will create approximately 100 jobs during construction. Solar developer Conti Enterprises Inc. of Edison was chosen as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, PSE&G added.

“Building solar farms on New Jersey landfills is a great way to invest in our state,” Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) said in the release. “It’s good for the environment, for public health and the economy. These projects will create jobs in clean energy, which is a growing sector, and reduce carbon emissions, which protects the environment and the public’s health. Solar farms are part of our future.”

Kinsley’s Landfill Inc. owns the landfill property, which ceased operations in 1987.

“I’m happy to see projects like the Kinsley Solar Farm taking place in Gloucester County,” state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Audubon) said in the release.  “This project will provide renewable energy to thousands of homes and businesses while also generating economic development and creating jobs in the area that I serve. Projects like this are important for Camden and Gloucester counties because they provide a benefit right now and continue to pay dividends well into the future.”

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