Solar Landscape, New Jersey’s leading developer, designer, installer, owner and operator of community solar solutions, has completed its final community solar project as part of the state’s Clean Energy Program’s Community Solar Energy Pilot Program Year One. The pilot, administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, says more than half of the energy generated by the community solar projects must go to low- to moderate-income households.

So far, Solar Landscape has installed eight community solar projects in New Jersey, bringing solar energy to over 3,000 households, according to the company’s March press release. The final project for Year One, located at World Harvest Church in Pennsauken, completes the almost 20-megawatt (MW) portfolio.

Through a subscription-based model, community solar enables New Jersey residents to use renewable, clean energy and save money on energy costs, and it increases access to clean energy for more people. Solar Landscape’s community solar projects energized in 2021 saved customers $220,000 in energy costs, according to its press release.

“This is a milestone for New Jersey’s progress in community solar,” said Shaun Keegan, founder and CEO of Solar Landscape, in the press release. “Together with our partners across the state, we are bringing affordable solar energy to thousands of people who thought they could never get it, either because they don’t own their home, they live in a place where solar panels aren’t an option or because they lack the financial resources to install them. On behalf of Solar Landscape’s 100-plus employees, we look forward to bringing affordable solar energy to thousands more soon.”

During the pilot’s first year, regulators awarded 78 MW for 45 projects, which exceeded its 75 MW goal, according to an article in PV Magazine. For year two, Solar Landscape has started construction on a few of its 46 new community solar projects, which are expected to generate more than 50 MW of power and provide electricity for another 7,000 households in the state.

Solar Landscape has held training sessions across the state to enable New Jersey residents to install solar panels on rooftops. As part of the company’s Green Ambassador Program, Solar Landscape is partnering with community colleges, technical schools and nonprofits to educate students about careers in solar energy, which are poised for rising demand in the near future.

The pilot program, one of the largest clean energy offerings primarily for low- to moderate-income households in the country, advances New Jersey’s goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2050. New Jersey solar projects offset more than 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to Solar Landscape’s website.

“The U.S. Department of Energy set a new target last fall to enable community solar to power the equivalent of 5 million households by 2025, generating $1 billion in energy bill savings,” said Nicole Steele, who leads the National Community Solar Partnership, a U.S. Department of Energy initiative led by the Solar Energy Technologies Office, in the March press release. “We are excited to support members of the National Community Solar Partnership, like Solar Landscape, to work toward this ambitious new target and accelerate the deployment of equitable and affordable community solar.”

New Jersey residents can subscribe to Solar Landscape’s community solar projects at www.GoSolarLandscape.com.