Gov. Mikie Sherrill, joined by Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA), as well as labor, business, and environmental leaders, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a state-run community solar project in Phillipsburg. The initiative aims to help residential customers save up to 25% on their electric bills.
Standing before an array of 8,000 solar panels at Active Solar Development LLC on a former landfill site in Warren County, Sherrill addressed concerns about rising utility rates and limited power generation capacity. “Utility rates are too high, and they’re going up, and we don’t have enough (power generation) capacity, which is why we’re trying to build that out as quickly as possible,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill highlighted actions taken to address these issues: “I declared a state of emergency to freeze utility costs and utility rate hikes, but we also need more capacity so we can drive down costs over time, and this solar project is a great way to do that. We’re going to keep building out capacity. We’re going to modernize our natural gas. We’re going to explore new opportunities for nuclear. But the quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to get more capacity right away is solar and battery storage.”
She also emphasized the importance of reducing regulatory delays: “Some of our solar projects have been waiting eight months or more for permitting, and so that’s why I made an executive order declaring that we are going to take major steps to expand energy production and to drive down permitting and bureaucracy.”
Sherrill noted that applications have opened for 3,000 megawatts of new community solar projects through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). These projects will allow homeowners who cannot install rooftop panels—such as renters or those living in multi-family buildings—to subscribe for savings between 15% and 25% on their electric bills.
Siekerka expressed NJBIA’s support for comprehensive energy policy covering clean energy projects like community solar and battery storage alongside natural gas and nuclear power. She added that NJBIA has long advocated for reforms aimed at expediting the connection of grid-scale renewable facilities by cutting regulatory red tape.
“Today’s announcement shows that clean energy and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, but rather working complements, strengthening our economy, driving business growth, creating good jobs, empowering communities and showcasing the power of strong public private partnerships,” Siekerka said. “It’s a win, win, and a win.”
Frank McCleneghen, founder of Active Solar Development LLC—the company behind the Phillipsburg project—reported that all subscribers at this site are residential customers receiving a 25% discount on their electric bills. He stated: “We had 80 union workers and 11 apprentices working on this job from the various labor unions,” adding that workers earned $1.88 million in wages and benefits. “This is a great testimony to what we can do with these projects,” McCleneghen said.
Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of BPU, encouraged residents interested in lowering their electric bills through community solar subscriptions to visit BPU’s Community Solar webpage for further information.
The NJBIA represents employers across multiple sectors throughout New Jersey as the nation’s largest statewide employer association (official website). The organization supports private-sector employers by providing advocacy services along with essential information designed to promote business prosperity (official website). Under Siekerka’s leadership (official website), NJBIA works with businesses as well as government entities through partnerships aimed at advancing competitive excellence (official website).
