Gov. Mikie Sherrill, joined by New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) President & CEO Michele Siekerka, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a state-run community solar project in Phillipsburg. The event included representatives from labor, business, and environmental sectors.
The new solar installation, located at Active Solar Development LLC on a former landfill in Warren County, features 8,000 solar panels. It allows residential subscribers to save up to 25% on their electric bills.
“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 at the site.
“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,” Sherrill continued. “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.”
Sherrill emphasized the importance of reducing government barriers that slow clean energy projects. “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,” she said.
She also mentioned that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities recently opened applications for 3,000 megawatts of new community solar projects. These initiatives aim to help homeowners who cannot install rooftop panels—such as renters or those living in multi-family buildings—subscribe for savings between 15% and 25% on their electricity bills.
Siekerka highlighted NJBIA’s support for comprehensive energy policies combining clean energy like community solar and battery storage with natural gas and nuclear power. She noted NJBIA’s longstanding advocacy for regulatory reforms that would allow quicker connections of large-scale renewable facilities.
“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, stated all subscribers at the Phillipsburg site are residential customers receiving a 25% discount on their electric bills. He added that “We had 80 union workers and 11 apprentices working on this job from the various labor unions,” noting $1.88 million was paid in wages and benefits.
“This is a great testimony to what we can do with these projects,” McCleneghen said.
Christine Guhl-Sadovy, president of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), encouraged residents interested in lowering their electric bills through community solar subscriptions to visit the BPU’s Community Solar webpage for further information.
The NJBIA serves as the largest statewide employer association in the United States representing employers across different sectors throughout New Jersey (official website). The association works to advance its members’ competitiveness while delivering key services such as advocacy efforts and cost-saving benefits (official website). Michele Siekerka leads NJBIA as president and chief executive officer (official website), supporting private-sector employers across New Jersey (official website) through partnerships among businesses, government agencies, and academic institutions (official website).